Ghost Hunt: Missing Archives
by Nomechan
Summary: After 4 years of Naru's departure, Mai enters college and join a society of paranormal research with new friends. What will happen when Martin Davis request her new team to help in case the old SPR team is taking? Naru will find himself with new challenging cases and a new team of exorcists to help him! Find out what will happen to the new SPR! References to Kuon& Fatal Frame.
1. Chapter 1

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**:)**

**Well this chapter is kind more of a prologue. Please read a review.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #1**

…_.Drip…._

"_Water?" I thought._

_I turned around to check on my surroundings, but everything was too dark for me to even see my own hands, even though…I was sure that the sound I heard was water leaking._

_Suddenly everything around ne turned into some kind of blur, almost as if was traveling in a incredible high speed, it was then that I heard it, something very different from the sound of leaking water._

_A song…yes, it was a song. Something like a lullaby sang by childish voices. It was a strange song, and it was so low that I couldn't understand the lyrics, but even though the tune made chills crawl all over my spin._

_My surroundings finally became clear and I found myself standing in the middle of a dark corridor. There were shoji doors __**(A/N: Japanese doors)**__on both sides and the only light I could see was the one that came from the thunder outside. There was a storm out there. _

_I heard the sound of a sliding door opening and a I turned around just to find an old man with a plain white yukata holding a lamp coming out from the room at the end of the corridor._

"_Who's there?" he asked with a shaky voice. I could tell that he was scared. "Whoever it is…. Come out now!"_

_There was no reply, the man stepped into the corridor and walked through the corridor trembling. He passed by me completely unaware of my presence. Of course, it was a dream after all._

_I watched as he made his way to the other end of the corridor. He stood in front of the last room and looked around as if he was trying to hear something. A horrible feeling came through my guts; a feeling I was already too familiar with._

"…_Danger…" I whispered to myself " NOOOO! DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!"I cried as the man's hand went over the door. Suddenly, the door burst open and something that I could only describe as black tentacles came out of the room grabbing the man from his limbs and waist. The man began screaming in panic and fear as he was being dragged into the room and the door slid closed. _

_Something horrible filled my ears. It was the sound of ripping flesh, painful cries and leaking … I fell on my knees covering my ears horrified._

_I want it to end….Please someone….wake me up!_

"_Neee…neeesan" a childish broke into my thoughts making my heart skip a beat. I turned around slowly and panted in terror. _

_Two little children were standing behind me with mischievous…no… wicked smiles on their faces. They were terribly pale, with pitch black hair and small red yukatas. On their forehead I could see two strange dots._

"_It's your turn to play…." They giggled as they stretched their hands at me, trying to grab my arms._

_I gasped in horror as I left out an ear piercing scream…._

"MAI! GET HOLD OF YOURSELF!" I heard someone saying as she slapped me on my face.

I looked around confused with my heart pounding fast. I was sitting in my room, a girl with blue-black hair and big gray eyes was staring at me with worry. Over her shoulder I saw a boy with an almost identical face as her lying against the door frame with sleepy eyes and sitting close to my side a girl with short burgundy hair stared at me biting her lower lip.

"You 'kay, Mai?" said the red haired girl.

"You were having a nightmare…" explained the dark haired girl.

"See? I told you not to study Ashitaka's class before bedtime…."commented the boy yawning.

"It wasn't a regular nightmare!" I cried out "It was one of those...dreams…."

"C'mon…I'll make you tea, 'kay?" said the red haired girl helping me out of the room.

My name is Taniyama Mai, and I'm nineteen years old. I'm studying parapsychology and folklore in Gakuden Tokyo University. I'm leaving on campus along with some friends: Sasaki Aki, the girl with the burgundy hair a Medicine student; Abe no Rei, the girl with blue –black hair, student of chemistry; Abe no Kei, Rei's twin brother and student electric engineering. They were bothe descendant of the famous Abe no Seimei,

"All right…Have you calmed down, Mai?" asked Aki as stroke my back comforting me.

"Yes…thank you"

"So….wanna talk about it?"

"KEI!"

"What? It might have to do with this new case, Ashitaka gave us"

A new case. Yes, Four years ago I used to work with Naru in SPR. After he closed the office and returned to England, everyone went on their own paths. Yasuhara was studying laws in the same college as I, so he was one of the people I met frequently; Ayako had began working on her family's clinic. She was so busy, that our contact was limited to one or two phone calls in a month. Bou-san was touring around with his band and he occasionally did one or another job as a monk. Masako was traveling around hosting her show. John still worked in the local church; he had recently come back from Rome, from a seminary for exorcist. That only left Naru and Lin-san. I kept in touch with both of them via e-mail. Lin- san was kind enough to reply to every of my e-mails. Naru rarely replied, of course that he wouldn't _waste_ his time replying each of my emails, but he would occasionally reply to one or two. That made me happy, since it meant that he was actually reading them.

After SPR closed, I focused on finishing school and entering college. One of my teachers told me about a Paranormal Research Society formed by various students and teachers from campus. It was quite a large group, and we were divided into different teams. Each team was formed by four to eight members: a medical support, technology expert, a folklorist and some exorcists. In my teams case, Aki was our medical support, Kei our technology expert, my duties were pretty much of the folklorist; but our team was a special one, because we were the only team in which all members had spiritual powers, so that mean we all could do an exorcism or a cleansing, and if the things got carried away, we could always ask John's help.

"New case?" I said puzzled " We have one already?"

"Well yeah…if you weren't snoozing around during dinner you might had heard of it"

"Ah…sorry, sorry…." I apologized "So….what's this case about?"

"It might be a dangerous one,.." replied Rei " It's something about a haunted house on the outskirts of Mt. Kita. We don't have much info though. Apparently people disappear only to appear dead some days later or not appear at all…"

"Perhaps is a serial killer?" I suggested. It wouldn't be the first time that a case turn out to not be paranormal at all.

"Yeah…we thought that two…but the way the bodies are found…is grotesque…mmmm it can't be a human's doing"

Grotesque? What ever it was…if it made Kei shudder like that, it was definitely something horrible.

"Why us?"

"Well…we are the most competent team for this case, beside…the person who proposed this case, specifically requested that it was us who took it." Explained Rei " but we've been instructed that if the case gets carried away…we must drop it"

"Is it that bad?"

"Can't tell…"

" IT seems like a foreign team is gonna join us" added Kei " We're meeting the un Mt. Kita"

"What? Why?" asked Aki worried.

" We're quite famous now since the case in which we actually hunted down a devil. Now this people are interested on seeing how we handle the cases…geez…talking about pressure"

"Anyway… What about your dream, Mai?"

I told them everything about my dream, how the man had been dragged into the room, the strange song and the twins…

"Hummm….yes, it does look like one of those dreams…" said Rei grabbing her chin thinking. That pose reminded me a lot of Naru and I couldn't hide my smile " we can't be sure if it has something to do with the case…but I'm concerned about the twins…."

"Yes….if they were part of the dream…they weren't s'pose to see me, right?"

"Mmmm… we must think about this carefully; but like I said… we can't tell until we get to the place…"

"Well we have two days to get ready. Aki bring all the medicines you can, Kei and I will handle the equipment, and Mai…you go do some researching about that place…."

"heh? Research…?"

"Yep….try to find something about any legend or anything"

"Okay…"

"Well…that should do" said Kei stretching his arms "What time is it?"

"5:30 am. Why?"

"WHAT? Damn you Mai!" he cried.

We all laughed. And so…that's how this case began.


	2. Chapter 2

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

** Wow and update in the same day of publishing! ahaha I'm feeling inspired for horror today...**

**SPR appear in this chapter….;P.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #2**

"Woahhhhh!" I said as I looked the house we had just arrived "when you said haunted house…I expected something smaller"

"well you silly….if you paid more attention you'll know I said manor." Laughed Kei "traditional aristocratic houses were usually built with many wings."

"Judging by the size of this building…this must have the house of important member in court…"

Our client, Fudo Suzuki took us the room she had chosen for our base. To my surprise, the room was pretty big. Then I remembered that we would work with another team in this case.

"Where's the other team?" I asked looking around.

"seems like we were first to arrive" Replied Kei as he was settling the computers.

"What should we do then?" asked a girl with blond curls: Hikaru.

"Well…we could stay here waisting our time, or go around and investigate a little for ourselves" Kei said throwing some communicators at us.

"All right…we'll divide like this. Aki you go to the gardens; HIkaru and Mai you'll take this building. Make sure you stick together; I'll take the northern wing and Kei will remain in base in case the other team arrives. Clear?"

"HAI!" we all said.

We all headed to our respective spots. Hikaru walked quietly by my side. She had always reminded me of female version of John.

"Neee…Mai" she asked shyly " Aki told me that you had a bad dream some nights ago…"  
"Ah…yes, I did"

"You bet…she screamed at 4 0'clock in the morning! She creep the hell out of us, and made us lose sleep hours…geeez " Kei's voice complained.

"You eavesdropper, Kei!"

"Calm down, Mai. Rei told us to keep on a conversation; remember?" Aki's voice said.

"Oh…right. I forgot…"

"Anyway… Mai, did you see anything familiar?"Rei voice said in a whisper.

"Nope…not yet" a sighed " The other team hasn't showed up?"

"Well…actually…"

Suddenly, we heard some unknown voices through Kei's line. He let out soft cried of panic before sighing in relief. Hikaru and I looked at each other and began laughing.

"AH…my apologies…" a unknown male voice said with an strange accent "Did I scare you?"

"EH…no, I didn' …." Kei replied " Shut up you two!" he added referring to us who are laughing at him.

" Excuse me?"

"Ah? OH…So sorry….I was talking to my companions. As you see we use a communication line…." I guessed that he was showing them the computer's screen.

"Ah…very interesting."

"My name is Abe no Kei…" He said politely " The girl in line 1…"

"I'm Abe no Rei. Kei's twin sister…please to meet you"

"Line 2" said Aki " Sasaki Aki"

"Line 3: Momoka HIkaru…"

"That's leaves up to me…" I chuckled " Taniyama Mai…please to meet you"  
There was a minute of silence and sudden los some gasps of surprise. Suddenly…

"MAIIII!" someone yelled at us. I knew it had hurt us all and I also recognized the voice.

"B-bou-san! IS that you?"

"HEY everyone….! It really is our Mai!" he cried cheerfully and then there was a dry knocking sound.

"Stop it! You old perv…." I heard the unmistakable voice of my favorite Miko. " Mai….how are you doing?"

"Woahhh….don't tell me….the whole team is there?"

"Yes! Even Naru and Lin are here!"

"WHAT?" I yelled.

I heard the other girls cry in pain.

"Oh…sorry girls…"

"Seems like you know each other…" the unknown male voice said.

"You know her too, father…she was my other assistant." I recognized Naru's voice.

"Oh!I know….please to meet you all. I'm Martin Davis, my wife Luella and my son Oliver"

"Should we return to base?" Aki asked.

" Have you finish your tasks?"

"Not quite…" we replied.

" Well…let's proceed as planed then. We can hear the whole conversation via communicators"

"yes…but please….no more yelling " whispered Hikaru.

"But heeey…." A voice that I recognized as Yasu's cried " Mai…you never told us you were doing this…"

"Oh well…She did tell me…in fact…I've helped her a couple times…" John's voice commented.

"Oh hi, John!" we all said.

"Ehem…we're here to work. I do not pay you to make more social life…"

Same Naru as always, I thought as I smiled. Hikaru looked at me and winked.

"Ehmmm….right….well we were waiting for you so that we could all review the case together" Kai said. I heard the sound of papers.

"We talked to the client before we accepted the case. According to her, she bought this place to turn it into a tourist spot, but when they bega the restoration of the building…strange phenomena began to happen. Five of the crew members disappeared without a trace…days later; they were found dead in…a certain condition. The works have been stopped until all these have been solved…"

"What do you mean with a condition?" Asked Bou-san.

" The bodies were found completely mutilated…it was certainly impossible to identify them. Witnessed said that the best description to how they found them was…"

"As if they've been put through a meat processor…." I whispered. I had read Kei's notes for the case.

"Gee…was it really that bad?"

"The only way they could identify them was through DNA testing…"

"Oh my god…" Ayako cried " What kind of ghost could do such a thing?"

"Perhaps not a ghost at all…" Rei said with soft voice. I could almost picture her in the same thinking pose as Naru " What else?"

"The client is no longer staying here…according to her. She only spent to nights in here…both nights she was woken a 2:00 am by the sound of children singing…"

Children singing ? A small flashback of my dream hit me. HIkaru was looking at me worried, and the rest of the guys had suddenly turn quiet.

"Could she make out the song?" asked Aki.

" Perhaps…"

" Mai…do you…?"

"How wouldn't I…that was the worst thing I ever dreamt in my life!" I cried out.

"MMmm…we shall question, Fudo-san later and make Mai sing the song to her just to see whether she recognizes it…" Rei commanded.

"Hara-san…do you happen to have anything to add?" Naru's voice asked.

"mmm…there are a lot of spirits in here…" I imagined that Masako was probably covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono " but I can't discern their feelings at all…is all mixed up…"

"Well…now, there's definitely a spirit in here…that's a matter of fact…" said Bou-san " But are you sure that a spirit could have done that to one of its victims? I mean…"

"Spirits with enough spiritual energy can cause a lot of harm…" explained Naru " but in those case they're not longer considered spirits…"

"Demons…." I said.

"You're right, Mai…"

Gosh…it was strange to hear Naru saying my name again. Suddenly I froze. I stared around in panic. Hikaru turned to me puzzled and glanced at me as if asking what was wrong.

That corridor…those doors….I'd found it….

"Mai?"

The world around me became blur, suddenly my ears felt like they've been covered and the only thing I could hear was a song….

_Hasizoroe, hasizoroe.  
Through a bamboo blind, I see a woman and a bamboo clothes box. I hear a sound  
of a hand drum.  
Scattered blood colors a carpet red-hot.  
Silk thread spins a soul of a sham.  
A bamboo clothes box is tied up with a string and wavers calmly.  
It resembles the scene that a pleased baby shakes a body at the time of  
Hasizoroe ceremony.  
__A threatening ceremony to continue earnestly.  
Hasizoroe.(1)_

Suddenly the song stopped, and panic invaded my sould….the silence felt so scary…

"Neee…nesan….you've come to play…." A tiny voice whispered in my ears and I felt a couple of small cold hands grabbing my ankles.

I screamed desesperate as I was being dragged over the wooden floor.

**TRaduction to the song sang by the mulberry twins in KUON (GAME) if you wanna know how it sounds you can search it in youtube,.**

**I hope you liked this chapter…as matter of fact, this arc would probably contain a lot of reference to KUON (PS2 Survival Horror Game) it won't stick to the games original story but I'll make use of some of the ghost and monsters appearing in the game.**

**I hope you'll stay tuned and please leave a review (good or bad!)**


	3. Chapter 3

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**:)**

**This chapter was originally longer but I decided to cut it there, Anyway I hope you enjoy the next chapter we'll get into action. Please enjoy.  
**

**Thanks to all the reviewrs so far...you're comments cheer me up and makes my dday. That kind of things make me want to write more and more! 3 Minna arigatou.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #3**

Mai was screaming desperately as she struggled and rolled over the ground. Hikaru was trying to keep her still. Meanwhile, in base, the presents looked at each other with pale faces.

"KEI!" Hikaru's voice cried out from the computer's screen " Mai…she just lost it…I can't handle her on my own!"

"We're on our way…can you give us your location?"

"Third corridor past the central garden…." She said with panting voice " Hurry!"

"Girls…you heard?"

"We heard we'll see you there…" Aki and Rei replied.

Kei dropped the microphone and ran out of the base tightly followed by Naru and the rest of SPR (including Martin and Luella). When they finally reached the corridor they found Hikaru knelt over Mai pinning her against the floor and trying to keep her still. Her blond hair was messed up and tangled due to the effort and the constant hitting of Mai's arms.

"GET IT OFF OF ME! GET IT OFF!" cried Mai with terrible screams.

Ayako covered her mouth in horror, Bou-san let out a concerned yelp; Naru and Lin were both staring with wide eyes…

Kei rushed to help Hikaru containing Mai. The brown haired girl kept struggling in panic and her screams became louder.

"I DON'T WANNA PLAY! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Naru rushed to her side and looked at Mai. His face was emotionless, but there was a sparkle of concern and worry in his eyes.

"What the hell happened?" asked Kei dodging Mai's kick.

"I don't know! She was fine!"

"Mai snap out of it!"

The sounds of running steps became stronger. Suddenly, Rei and Aki appeared by the corner and rushed straight to Mai.

"Stay away! " said Rei looking at the members of SPR when they wanted to get to Mai. " She is now in panic and she might hurt you…we need to calm her. Aki!"

"I have everything ready"

Aki showed the needle she had in her hand and carefully injected its content on Mai's arm. The girl struggled a little more before finally growing completely still.

"That should do…at least til she calms down" said Aki putting away the needle.

Rei nodded.

"You can get closer now…"she added looking at the rest of SPR. They immediately got to them in concern.

"Oh my god…is she okay?" asked Luella Davis.

"Yes…I just gave her a sedative…" replied Aki " It was a small amount, only to make her calm down…she should wake up in a while…"

"We should get her back into base then…." Bou-san said, picking Mai's small body easily.

Everyone nodded and returned to base as quickly as they could. Bou-san left the girl resting on the couch. A shook his head. Her breathing have gotten normal and she now seemed as she was having a pleasant nap.

"Same old, Mai…" he said with a small smile in his lips"Still a ghost magnet, isn't she?"

"Yep…Typical of her…gets attacked and the goes to sleep leaving all the heavy work on us" laughed Kei "But I'm glad…she looks calmer now…"

"I don't think…it was a ghost at all…" said Hikaru shyly.

Everyone turned to her, even Lin stopped typing to raise his head at her and Naru turned from his notebook.

"Explain…" demanded Naru.

"I didn't feel any presence in the corridor, there wasn't any variation in the surroundings. Neither temperature changes nor voltage fluctuations…" said Hikaru "Even if that spirit had managed to hide his presence from Mai and I, it would have required the energy to manifest…"

"Not all spirits causes an environmental variation when they're about to manifest…" said Naru coldly " sometimes that variations is hardly perceived by human perception…"

"Like EMF…." Added Kei.

Naru nodded.

"If that was the case…there should have been an EMF somewhere in there, and unless you had something to measure EMF with you back then" replied Naru coldly.

"Anyway….let's wait until Mai wakes up and we let her tell us what happened…"

"But…"

"Takigawa-san I thought I didn't pay you to lose your time doing chat…" Naru said annoyed " We'll start settling the cameras…"

"About that….here" said Kei giving Naru a notepad with notes "These are the spots where our cameras are located. There are still a lot of hot spots so you can put yours there…we'll be sharing data so it doesn't matter who puts in where…"

Naru nodded silently. He was obviously annoyed by the fact that he'd have to cooperate with a completely different team, though the starting annoyance had gotten less since he'd heard Mai's voice in the early meeting.

" Very well…Takigawa –san and Brown-san will set the cameras in these spots. Hara-san and Yasuhara-san, you'll take the temperatures from each room and at the same time see if you can feel anything. Matsuzaki-san…I want you to make some protective charms for everyone…"

"Uhm…NAru…will our equipment be enough to cover the whole manor?"

"With my parent's equipment, Abe-san 's and ours…that should cover all the important spots"

"Shibuya-san"asked John as he picked a set of cameras " what about you?"

"I shall assist Lin and my parents settling theirs…"

The rest of the gang nodded and turned to leave the base, when they were suddenly stopped by Rei who had stood up from her seat.

"Before you go…I would like you all to give us one of your hairs…"

The team, except for John, looked at her puzzled, even the Davises, Lin and Naru have turned to her and were now looking at her quizzically.

"Oh, boy…" sighed Kei " It's not like we're gonna curse you or anything. It's just that…we wanna take precautions…"

"What kind of precautions might involve our hair?" asked Bou-san suspiciously.

"It's ok, Takigawa-san…" said John smiling " She's just gonna make some protective charms..."

"Eh?"

John smiled and pulled out something from underneath his shirt. It was a small embroidered blue bag tied with a long thread around his neck.

"They gave me one the last time I helped Mai-chan in one of their cases"

"Woah…I didn't expect you to still have it…" commented Rei surprised.

"But of course…it has been really useful"

"What would we need those…I'm doing protective charms for everyone" said Ayako frowning.

"Yes…and I don't doubt they're splendid to guard against vengeful spirits and misfortune, but they might not be enough if what we're facing are more than mere spirits…"

"More than…? What are you talking about?"

"I've got the feeling that something else is in here… I might be wrong but just in case…"

"Bakemono, mononoke…oni…could be any of those. So please, we want you all to be safe and protected…"she smiled giving them some small bags and a marker.

They agreed a little distrustful as they took one hair and put it in the bag and wrote their names on it.

"May I ask how you are using these to make protective charms?" asked Lin.

Everyone looked at Lin. It was strange that he would ask questions, usually it'd be Naru asking them and he'll simply type any important information into his laptop.

"oh…You're Lin Koujo…" Rei said reading the bag he had just handled to her.

"Correct…"

" I presume you might be Chinese. Nice to meet you…my mother is also Chinese. That means that we have 50% in common…" she smiled at him and to everyone's surprise he returned her the smile. "Our protective charms, as John has already shown you, are actually Chinese fragrant bags….or potpourri bags as you prefer to call them"

"In ancient times, Chinese people would use them as decorative or love tokens, later on they began to be used as charm to ward against evil. They are very used during the Ghost Festival on the Seventh month in Chinese Culture. The power of the charm depends of the content of the bag…" added Kei.

" The one that John has is made of japanese yew, fennel, lilac flowers, lotus root, angelica flower, anise seed and asafetida. All of them are fragrant plants that repel evil. It also holds a Taoist charm warding against evil, blessed incense ashes and one of John's hair" explained Rei.

"I'm familiar with that type of fragrant bags, but I've never heard about the detail of the person's hair"

"Uh…I would be surprised, Lin-san. That's something we have made up. We figured out that the charms works a lot better when it's directed to a specific person. Originally, it should have been done with the person's blood, but since we don't want to be such crude, we use hair instead. It works nicely, too…" she smiled at him again " If we combine those charms with MAtsuaki-san's, I'm pretty sure, any spirit that might mean any harm won't be able to touch us…"

"if that's the case…I'll leave that to you…" said Naru .

"Trust us…Hikaru, Aki…I'll leave the dormitory securing to you, since Mai is out of the task now…Kei we'll secure the base and I'll make the charms. It shouldn't take long so I'll have them ready for when you're back…"

Both girls nodded silently and walked out. The rest of the gang left to do their respective tasks as well. Only, Ayako, Rei , Kei and the sleeping Mai remained in base. Kei was walking around the room holding some incense sticks in a ceremonial manner as he muttered some words. He then stuck one stick on each corner of the room.

Ayako was watching him interested. She noticed the room's air had suddenly lighten and it'd felt a lot purer and peaceful.

"What's he doing?" she asked softly to Rei who was occupied sewing the small bags.

"Uh? Oh, him? We're setting a spiritual barer on base, we always do it in case that we get trapped and we need a safe point to stay. The girls are doing the same on the dormitories…we'll be all sleeping together…I hope you don't mind…"

" I don't…but I'm impressed…" she said as she put away another of the paper charms " You really do take precautions…"

"We're often assigned to the most dangerous cases. If we didn't any of us could easily get hurt or even killed…"

"Of course…and knowing her luck, it might be her…" said Ayako pointing at Mai with her head as her lips curled into a warm smile.

"haha…indeed. She always get caught in the worst case scenario, doesn't she? We have a complete set of charms only for her…"

Both girls laughed.

"So Abe-san…."

"Just call me Rei. When you have a twin working we you I really gets confusing when we're called by our last name, Matsuzaki-san"

"you can call me Ayako, Rei. I was wondering…."

"Yes?"

"Your last name…could you possibly be related to the famous Abe No Seimei?"

"Haha…we get asked that often. Well…yes. We're his descendants from my father side. We were both raised to become onmyoujis as tradition in my family. My mother was a Taoist priestess so she has quite similar traditions as well…so my brother and I are quite a little of both sides…"

"I see…and how old are you?"

"I'm 22…." She smiled.

"Oh…"

Their conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of certain, brown haired girl waking up.

**All right I hope you've liked the story so far. Stay tuned and pleaso don't forget to leave a review. **

**;P  
**


	4. Chapter 4

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**:)**

**I think this is the longer chapter I've written so far, but I'm not sure XD. A little bit of action already….I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #4**

"Mai!" I heard a familiar female voice call me as I opened my eyes.

Ayako? My view was blurry and the only clear thing that I could distinguish was the wooden ceiling in front of my face. Then everything returned to me…those twins, the corridor of my nightmare and the feeling of extreme fear and panic. I needed to tell somebody about what had happened to me. I got up in a jump and the familiar feeling of dizziness hit me.

"Honestly…you should already know what happens when you get up like that…" Rei's voice reached me as I fell on the couch again.

"Where am I?" I asked trying to clear my view "and why do I feel so lightheaded?"

"to the first question…you're in base, idiot" mocked Kei without taking off his look from the screens " to the second, we had to drug because you went into hysteria mode…as usual"

"Just great…" I complained while I tried to get up "How's that this stuff keeps happening to me?"

"Mai….you better stay laid" Ayako told my sweetly. Oh, how much had I missed her comforting voice in these cases?

"Ayako! I'm so happy to see you…you have no idea!"

The burgundy haired Miko smiled at me in motherly way.

"So am I! Everyone is happy to see you here. We were a little disappointed when Naru said that he hadn't been able to contact you for this case, even him. He was in an awful mood…"

"I was in another case with the guys some days ago. We'd just come back when we were assigned to this case…" I excused myself. " We were in a rural area with no signal or civilization at all!"

"It's okay, Mai. You're here now….though I think things are going to be a little different now that you're not with SPR"

"Well…seems like Naru won't be asking so much for tea, will he?"

We both laughed.

"Ne Mai… Do you remember what happened in the corridor?" Ayako asked me with a serious expression.

"Uh….that's right! I must tell you!"

"May be we should fetch the other before you tells us….that way you won't need to tell the story twice…" suggested Kei.

He was sitting in front of the screens. I noticed that there were actually more screens than usual, well now, those were the screens of practically three different teams after all. I wondered how did he managed to pay attention to all of them at the same time.

Rei who was sitting by my side sewing nodded silently. She put her sewing away and got up.

"You tell Takigawa-san and John through the microphone. I'll go fetch the Davises and the others."

"All right…"

"Rei! Be careful…." I said worried and she smiled at.

I stared worried as Rei walked to the door and left the base. Before her shape completely disappeared from view, I caught the glimpse of pinkish glint that floated around Rei's shoulder. I recognized it as one of her Shikigamis. It probably had felt my uneasiness and had let me see her to let me know she'd take care of Rei. That little detail put a smile in my lips.

I looked around the base and my look fell on the coffee table in the middle of the couches. It was covered with cloths from different colors, dried plants and other things. So she's been making charms for everyone.

I picked the half sewed charm that Rei had left on the table a began from where she had stopped.

"Mai…may be you should get a little more rest…" Ayako as she saw me begin to sew.

"I've already slacked enough. The barrier on base makes me feel a lot better" I replied smiling " Besides …this charms are for you all…and what a person would I be, if I didn't put my part protecting my _family"_

Ayako stared me in surprised and I smiled. The sachet I was sewing now was scarlet and somehow it reminded me a lot to Ayako. Somehow…I knew this charm belonged to her.

A couple of minutes later, Aki and Hikaru entered the base talking. Both of them smiled at me before going to talk to Kei. John, Bou-san, Yasuhara and Masako entered a little bit after. Bou-san immediately hugged me so hard that I felt as if my head was about to explode; Masako just gave me her usual glare (nothing much have changed between us); John smiled sweetly at me and politely asked if I was feeling better and Yasuhara tried to give me a kiss (what of course I refused!).

"Mai….how's that you went around having fun with John and never invited me? That's so not nice!" claimed Bou-san dramatically.

"It's…it's not like that, Takigawa-san!" replied John nervously " It was because, Matsuzaki-san and you were too busy, and she didn't wanted to bother you. That's why she asked me to help them!"

"I don't care! How's that my little cute Mai could forget about me? I'm so…so…sad!" Bou-san cried pushing my head into his chest with a melodramatic gesture.

"Ahhhh…let go of me! You old perv!" I said struggling and trying not to laugh at all.

"This is serious case….if you're here to play around, you may leave"

I recognized that voice immediately: Naru. As Bou-san let go of me I saw Naru entering with his parents. Behind them I saw Lin enter side by side with Rei who was cheerfully chatting with him with a wide smile. To my surprise, I saw that there was a soft smile curved on Lin's lips. Too suspiciously, and that was certainly something I was going to interrogate her tonight.

"Mai…" Naru said sitting in front of me. The rest of the presents did the same.

Rei returned to my side and resumed her sewing. Lin brought his laptop and stared at me awaiting for my story.

"Start talking…"commanded Naru.

I rolled my eyes. So typical of that narcissistic jerk!It had been four years that we didn't meet and the first thing he had to tell me was something related to his work. He hadn't changed a bit! I had expected him to have become nicer as he'd matured, but no, same old Naru.

"Mai…I really don't have the whole day…and if you're not going to say anything useful…."

"FINE!" I replied annoyed "I really don't know what exactly happened, but when we entered that corridor…I realized that was the spot I'd seen in my dream. Then out of sudden, it was as if I had disconnected from this place. Everything became blurry and silent…the only thing I heard….was that song…the stupid and creepy lullaby, and then there was the same voice of my dream asking if I had come to play. Suddenly I couldn't move and I felt someone grab my ankles and pull me into the ground. Next thing I knew I was rolling over the floor trying to get off those horrible spider webs."

"Spider webs?" said Naru with lifted eye brow.

"Well…i-it…felt like spider webs, it could have been something else…"

"I see. Was it the work of a ghost…?"

I was about to reply that obviously yes, but I restrained myself. Now that I thought about it, it hadn't felt like a ghost at all…what's more… it didn't felt like anything I'd felt before.

"I…I don't think it was…" I replied and everyone looked at me confused "That presence…it felt wicked…but at the same time…it didn't feel evil. I know it doesn't make sense. It felt completely different from a vengeful spirit…"

"Something wicked that doesn't feel evil at all…" said Rei as she made Naru's thinking pose.

For a second a tried to imagine who would they look together doing the same pose and I chuckled.

"Well…I guess that's something that we'll need to figure out…" she finally said.

"Hara-san…did you feel anything around the manor?"

"There are a lot of spirits…I've never seen this many in one single building, but most of them seem like ordinary wandering spirits that don't mean any harm at all, but I can't confirm it…their true intentions are not clear…"

"Well…that's not useful at all. I wonder if your power is becoming weaker as you grow…" mocked Ayako.

"Unlike certain people… My _age_ doesn't affect my powers…"replied Masako covering her mouth with her kimono's sleeve gracefully.

"Now what's that suppose to mean….?" Ayako snapped angrily.

"nee… About Fudo-san…" I rushed to say before Ayako and Masako began arguing.

"She'll be here in a while…we can check the information about the house, that Madoka send us, while we wait for her to arrive…" Mr. Davis suggested.

" I agree, father…Mai…."

"E-eh? Yes?"

"Tea…"

"What? To your information….I'm not longer your assistant you know?"

"SPR hired the services of your team…so as much as I'm concern, you're still my employee…now go"

"You….!" I began but I felt Aki's hand grab my harm and shook her head.

I sighed and got up annoyed. What a jerk!

" I'll go with you, Mai-chan" John offered.

"I'll go two…" said Aki " It might be a good chance to take some snapshots of the manor "

"Sounds like a good idea…" agreed Rei "then I'll send Sakuya with you…"

"Will you be fine without it?" asked Aki frowning.

"I'll be staying in base finishing the charms, besides…if you have forgotten; I have five of them left plus the six from Kei. Never mind about me…"

Aki nodded.

"Then we're leaving now…"

John, Aki and I made our ways to the kitchen. It was just a small room with window to the garden, a gas stove and a sink. It seemed as if no one had used it for a while.

"That jerk!" I busted annoyed as I put the kettle on the fire"What's the big deal? It's not like he's my boss anymore is he?

"Cool down, Mai-chan…" smiled John " I'm quite sure he just misses your tea very much…"

"Besides…you would have made him tea even if he hadn't asked…" added Aki checking the pictures she had taken. We usually took pictures for our files.

"Gaaaargh….That doesn't make it any better; curse that damn narcissist!"

"Mai…you do realize that one of SPR cameras and microphones are in this room right?"

"So what? I'll let Lin-san know what I'm thinking about that stupid egocentric jerk!"

"Mai-chan…hehe…" laughed John nervously.

Suddenly a chill crossed down our spin, and the three of us looked at each other in silence. Aki reacted automatically and made us bow.

"Shhh…stay quite" she muttered.

Something was outside the window. I could hear heavy steps and a faint growl and moans. My heart pounded so fast, that I thought it might jump out from my chest. I looked at my companions. John was holding his crucifix tightly and Aki seemed worried.

"Just stay quite…they won't notice us thanks to our charms…" she said whispered " We must not make a sound. That would give us away…."

"What are those?" whispered John as well.

"Gaki…(1)" replied Aki.

Oh god, just go away please…go away. I thought to my insides when suddenly an ear piercing whistle broke the silence. The Kettle! Damn you and your stupid tea Naru!

"Crap!" cried Aki.

The horrible sound of growls reached us as something broke out through the window. Some horrible creatures with gray skin, thin arms and enormous belly began to enter into the room with and look at us with ravenous looks began to struggle to us.

Aki had taken out a katana that she used to keep by her side all the time. Thanks to god she did! She quickly began to keep them away from us by waving the sword with great ability.

"MAI! Use Kuji-in!" she told me as she dispatched one of the horrible things.

"HAi! Rin Pyō Tō Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zai Zen"

As I kept chanting the nine words, Iheard John chanting the Our Father and Aki cutting the gaki with her katana, but as much as we kept trying to keep them away they would just keep coming into the room. At this rate… we would…

"_Nozomeru tsuwamono tatakaumono mina jin yaburete mae ni ari!"_

Suddenly a bunch of White lights appeared from behind us and charged against the Gaki and send them back into the garden.

We turned in relief and found Rei standing in the door frame holding a long spear.

"_Kourin shoshin shoshinjin baakukifukuja hakki shoujo kyuukyuu joritsuryou" _she kept chanting and we could hear the cries of sorrow from outside growing weaker. " Sakuya! Tsukimori!"

Two brilliant orbs: one pink and the other of a deep green appeared in front of us.

"Take care of the rest! " She commanded to the orbs and they flew into the garden " Let's go! We need to reach base NOW!"

Without putting in doubt her statement we all ran to base without looking back, but for the for a brief moment I swore I had seen two white faces looking at us from behind one of the shoji doors.

=======================================================(**(1) The concept of Gaki is well explained in the last volumes of Ghost Hunt, but in case you haven't read it. A gaki is also known as preta, or Er-Gui in chinese which literally mean hungry ghost. These are wandering spirits that require to be offered some offerings of food, because it's believe that they're continuously ravenous. This are one of the main spirits that are celbrated during the Seventh Month Ghost Festival in chinese culture. If you feel interested in the topic you can search it in wikipedia or well in any browser.**

**The spells I used in this chapter are some warding spells meant to attack evil. I have quite a bunch of them in stock because I'm currently writing a light novel that deals with horror topics as well. : )**

**If you liked the chapter, please review and I'll update sooner.**


	5. Chapter 5

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Here's another chapter. I'm feeling quite inspired and I'm still on vacations from college, so I've got plenty of time to upload. Thanks to all the people who have favorite, reviewed and follow this story. I feel honored to count with your support.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #5**

We reached the base sooner than expected. The four of us collapsing on the ground exhausted. Poor John was panting as he grabbed his chest trying to recover his breath; he was not used to this kind action. Aki laid by my side still holding her katana and Rei was kneeling on her fours in front of me, panting heavily. As soon as my eyes fell on her panting figure, my heart gave a jump.

Her clothes were ripped and she was stained in blood in many parts. I put my hands over my mouth terrified as I retreated in panic and Rei looked at me puzzled.

"Mai…are you hurt?" Naru asked me as he knelt in front of me. His deep blue eyes locked with mine. I could see a little spark of concerned dancing in his gaze.

"Naru! Rei…Rei she…"

"Mai…calm down. Abe-san is right in front of you…" he said calmly. His voice was strangely soothing.

"No…I mean yes, but she…why is she all covered in blood?" I cried in panic.

Naru looked at me bewildered. Over his shoulder I saw Bou-san looking at me with wide eyes from the couch. His clothes were dirty and ripped in some parts. Ayako was standing by his side and she seemed worried her gaze traveled from me to Rei who was now sitting on the ground.

"Mai…Abe-san isn't covered in blood. She might be a little dusty…but besides of that she has no blood on her."

"No…She…" I looked at her once more. Naru was right. She might have been a little dirty but there was no sign of blood on her clothing. Then what was that vision I just had? I couldn't have imagine it, could I?

"But…I just saw you…I…"

"It's all right, Mai. Calm down…you're safe now…"

My mind was a hurricane of confusion. I felt Naru's arms lifting me from the floor and helping on my feet. He kindly took me to the couch and sat me between Bou-san and Ayako. The monk warmly wrapped his arm around my shoulders, while the Miko pulled my hand and squeezed it tenderly.

"Brown-san…are you ok?" Naru said calmly.

"I'm a little shock and breathless, but I'm not hurt…thanks, Shibuya-san" John answered smiling while Yasuhara helped him stand up.

"Sasaki-san? "

"I'm ok…" Aki replied sheathing her katana.

"Abe-san?"

"I'm fine, too…"

Naru nodded silently as he sat down on the couch next to his mother.

"What happened to you Bou-san?" I asked shyly.

"Rei-chan ran out of base out of sudden without saying a word, and the Lin told us that the camera in the kitchen had caught something strange. It was then when we saw you three being attacked. I ran out after Rei-chan, but I could reach her because on the middle of my way I was attacked , too. Man if would have turned nasty if it hadn't been for that young lady coming to help me…" He replied pointing at Hikaru with his head. Hikaru nodded and smiled at me kindly.

"But that's curious…" Yasuhara said " Rei-chan ran out of the room before Lin-san actually noticed something odd in the camera. How did she knew?"

"Shikigami…" Aki, Rei, Kei, Hikaru and I replied simultaneously causing everyone to look at us.

"Shikigami…?" asked Bou-san looking at me.

"They're onmyoujis…." replied Lin looking at us.

Naru nodded as he opened his black notebook.

"Abe-san…"

"Yes ?" replied both Kei and Rei.

"Ehm…surely, you should address them by their names…otherwise they'll never know who you're talking to…"I said smiling at Naru. He completely ignored me. What a jerk.

"Rei-san…"

"Hai?"

"Did your shiki tell you that they were in danger…?"

"Uhm…"Rei nodded "I left two of my shiki with Mai and the others, just in case. The remaining ones stayed here…when I left I took two of them with and left one behind to support Takigawa-san. The last one stayed here in base…"

"How many shiki do you own?"

"Eh?" she said puzzled " Technically twelve, but my brother and I share them so each of us own six. Why?"

"Nothing really…"he replied closing the notebook "Hara-san…"

"Masako…" she corrected him.

"Can you tell if the spirits that attacked us earlier are still out there?"

"Uh…the ones that attacked Takigawa –san are gone. I can't feel them anymore, but I'm not entirely clear about the ones from the kitchen…"

"I think we can call it a day…"

"Wait…Wasn't Fudo-san coming?"

"Fudo-san had a health seizure. She's currently at the hospital so she won't be able to come for an interview. My parents and I will go to the hospital and do it ourselves tomorrow. The rest of you can go to rest…"

"Nee Naru…" said Ayako "Is it really safe for us to sleep in here with those things haunting around?"

"They're gaki, right? We could just perform an exorcism and finish the case already. To be honest…this place gives me creeps…" suggested Bou-san.

"You're wrong!" I whispered causing everyone to look at me." Uhg… Even if we exorcise the gaki, they case won't be done…"

"In anycase…Naru, you didn't respond my question…" demanded Ayako putting her hands on her hips.

"The rooms have been secured. We put a barrier in the three rooms "said Hikaru " if we go in group to the rooms there shouldn't be a problem as long as no one goes around by themselves…"

" Well…that's something our little Mai should keep in mind" laughed Yasuhara " Heard that Mai-chan no night lover visits…"

"Yaaa…shut up!" I complained.

"Well he has a point…" said Kei "I guess I can leave one of mine to keep an eye on her…"

"I don't need a spiritual baby sitter…"

"All right….then Kyoga will stay with you…"

I had been completely ignored.

"Well well…then we're going to bed first, Naru…" said Bou-san. Naru did not reply his eyes were stuck on his notebook.

I joined the rest of the gang, Aki and Hikaru on their ways to the dormitories. Bou-san was very interested in the fact that Rei and Kei had shikigamis. I remembered that some years before in our second case, he had been surprised when I he'd thought that Naru was an onmyoji , too.

"Oh…by the way, young lady…" he was addressing to Hikaru " Thank you very much. You really saved me back then…"

Hikaru smiled kindly.

"That's ok…It was the right thing to do…" she simply said.

"But you're certainly something special. You must be really young, but your skills impressed me"

"That's our Hikaru…the best _itako(1)_ in Japan…" I laughed making her blush.

"I'm really not that powerful…"

"Wait…Itako? Aren't those suppose to be blind?" asked Yasuhara.

"Well, yes. Why?"

"Well…Hikaru-chan…"

"Yes…I'm blind…" she said smiling.

"WHAT?" everyone except for me, Aki and John yelled.

"I was surprised the first time they told me, too." Admitted John.

"Wait…but…you don't act like someone blind!" said Ayako " You move around as a perfectly normal person…!"

"That's due to my psychic power…" she explained " Thanks to it, I can easily picture the things that surround me even though I can really see them…"

"Incredible…" said Masako covering her mouth gracefully " What about her?"

"I come from a demon slayer family…"

"Really…these kids are amazing…" said Bou-san rubbing the back of his head " She's an itako, this one is a demon slayer, those two are onmyojis. Next thing you'll tell me is that those twins are actually descendant of Abe no Seimei or something like that…hahaha"

"Woah…Bou-san, you're good. How did you know?" I said surprised.

" Know what?"

"That Kei and Rei are from the Abe clan!"

"You're kidding, right?"

"No…"

"WHAT? I said that kidding…! They…they really are?"

"Yes…they are…" replied Aki.

"Then…those twelve shikis…" said Yasuhara " Can't be…are they the 12 Shinshou?"(2)

"12 shinshou?" asked both Masako and Ayako staring at Yasuhara.

"You mean the 12 Celestial Generals?" asked Bou-san.

The boy pushed up his glasses and looked at us with cool air.

"According to some legends…Abe no Seimei was so powerful that he was capable of taming twelve gods and turned them into his familiars. Incredible…and I thought that it was a mere legend…"

"Well…well…seems like the only useless in that team would be Mai" Masako said maliciously hiding her smirk behind her sleeve.

"I'm not that useless! " I said angrily.

"Aren't you? I really think that the only ability that you can brag about is your rare capacity of getting into troubles…"

"Masako you…" I yelled annoyed as the rest laughed.

…_drip…_

_There it is again…the water. It means this is another of _those_ dreams. I was standing in the hallway that heads to our base, and everything was dark. I saw one of those Gaki moving through the darkness before it was destroyed by a pinkish orb. Sakuya…so, Rei's shikis were hunting them out. _

"_Mai" a voice whispered behind me. _

_When I turned around I was surprised to find Naru smiling at me …that wasn't Naru…that was Gene, but…wasn't he supposed to had already crossed over?_

"_Gene…? What…what are you doing here?"_

_He smiled at me. Oh, how had I missed that smile._

"_That's not important, Mai…" he said kindly " I'm here to guide you…"_

"_But Naru…what will he do if he finds out that you're still here?"_

"_He doesn't need to know. This will be our little secret…"_

"_Our…secret? Eh…ok, I guess…"_

_Gene stretched his hand at me inviting me to take it._

"_Mai…the place you're now is more dangerous than my brother thinks. The evil that lives in there is very powerful…"_

"_What do you mean?"_

_While we talked, I realized that we were no longer standing in the middle of the corridor, but in the central garden. From the spot we were standing now I could see the four wings of the manor. There were more gaki walking around and I saw how more of Rei's shikis destroyed them._

"_Look Mai…" Gene said pointing into one of the darkest corridors. _

_I directed my look to the spot he was pointing at. I had to cover my mouth with my hands so that I wouldn't scream. There was a woman with long black hair that fell all over her face, making it almost impossible to see her face, her kimono was stained with dried blood and her hands were completely red with leaking blood leaving a nasty path behind her as she walked. She walked and shuffled clumsily through the corridor staggering from side to side, around her those creepy twins danced playfully as they sang:_

Hazizoroe…. Hazizoroe….

"_Oh my god!" I cried softly " Gene…I must wake up and tell them!"_

"_Don't worry, Mai…she can't find them. Rei's charms and those barriers are working amazingly…" he said putting his hand on my shoulder " she's just been fed…so now she is heading back to her lair…"_

"_Her lair?"_

"_Look…."_

_The woman disappeared through another corridor, and before I realized we were standing in a forest. There was small dilapidated shrine covered in weed, with an enormous dried tree in front. I saw the woman and the twins walking to the tree and suddenly. The woman raised her head, and out of sudden, her body fell limply between its roots and disappeared. The twins danced around the tree and I saw it glow faintly._

"_What's….that?" _

"_It's weak…and hungry…that's why it's been wandering. Just like the other spirits in the manor"_

"_Who is she, Gene?"_

_Gene shook his head slightly. _

"_It's dangerous, Mai. You should all leave that place, soon."_

"_We can't Gene…that…ghost, or whatever it is…. It's killing innocent people Gene….we can't let it free!"_

_Gene stared at me silently, and nodded. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he hold me protectively in a hug._

"_Gene…?"_

"_We've been found…"_

"_What?...By whom?"_

"_look look…brother…it's the girl we found earlier…"_

_My heart almost stopped. I looked down slowly to find the two kids staring straight at me. _

"_yes…yes….brother…she's come to play again…"_

_Both kids giggled. I felt Gene's hand hold me stronger. _

"_Time to wake up, Mai…." He whispered at me and suddenly a white light surrounded._

**Well…that was another chapter. **

**Firstly, the notes:**

**(1)An itako is a kind of Japanese shaman who's usally a female and is blind. They're common in northern japan.**

**(2)These 12 Shinshou are not the real Juuni shinshou or twelve celestial generals that exist in Buddhist religion. I won't be using the real ones due to religious believes ( if you don't know I'm Buddhist and the last thing I wanna do is offend the gods), so I'm using a fictional version of them created by me. To be honest, I think there really isn't any legend that says that Abe no Seimei actually made the 12 shinshou his shikis, but I'm taking this fact from another story: Shounen Onmyouji by Mitsuru Yuki as a reference (it's a nice story BTW), even though, the 12 shinshou of kei and rei are not the same ones from shounen onmyouji.**

**Well I hope you liked this chapter. It was a little of an explanation chapter more than action one. If you liked the story please review and if not….do as well so that I can improve.**

**Arigatou minna! Til next time ( if I'm lucky probably tomorrow) stay tuned.**


	6. Chapter 6

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Well….thanks everyone for all the reviews. You make me very happy…!**

**To KyGazer:**** thanks for the critics n.n don't worry…the romance in this story won't be the main line. I'm trying to stick to the Ghost Hunt style.**

**All right, this chapter is a little of filler. Please read an reviw!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #6**

I woke up with my face covered in sweat. The first thing I saw was the darkness surrounding me, followed by the image of the wooden ceiling of the room. Thanks to goodness…For a second, I thought I'd have found those creepy twins staring at me once I woke up.

I got up slowly and looked around the room. The girls were all soundly sleeping, but I immediately noted the absence of one of them. Rei's futon was neatly folded in the corner of the room, what meant that either she had _come_ and taken a quick nap and left, or she hadn't come to the room at all. Either way, she was probably in base picking on her brother.

My dream seemed important. I was afraid that if I tried to sleep again, I'd forget it by the morning, so I guess the best plan was getting into base and telling whoever was in there (probably Lin-san, Kei and Rei, and may be Naru) about it first. If I went on my own, I'll probably get scolded, but I felt guilty about waking up any of my sleeping companions.

"Kyoga? Are you here?" I said softly hoping that the shikigami would show.

A white orb appeared in front of me. Kei had once told me once that the 12 shinshou actually had a human shape; in fact, most shikigami had either human or animal shape; sometimes even both. Not everyone could see them though, only those who had a very strong spiritual power.

My spiritual power was very latent, though it'd been awoken little by little with the years, since the first time I'd met Naru. Even though my power wasn't enough to see their real shapes, now I was able to see their simple form, those brilliant orbs. The 12 shinshou, have been kind enough, though, and they had taken the habit to show as orbs from different colors so that I could recognize them. I wondered how Lin-san's shiki would look like.

"Kyoga…I had a dream. I want to go to the base…can't you help me?"

The orb made a little spin in the air before flying away into the wall. I was sure he'd gone to tell Kei my intentions. Some minutes later, Kyoga returned and flew around my head before going to the door. It was my green light.

I got up and left the room silently, making sure not wake anyone on my way. The corridor was silent and dark as it'd been in my dream. I took a deep breath and began walking nervously. I hadn't reached half way when I heard steps approaching me. My heart began beating faster and I looked around panicked trying to find a good hiding spot around. The steps seemed closer.

' _If it's a ghost…I'll scream as loud as possible and someone will come to my rescue, so calm down Mai…don't panic' _I thought.

Suddenly a black shape appeared in front of me and I closed my eyes and opened my mouth ready to scream when I felt a hand covering it.

"Mai…stay quiet, or do you want to wake up all livings and non livings in this place…" a cold voice said.

I looked up and sighed in relief. It was only Naru with his deep blue eyes looking straight at me.

"Oh…it's only you, Naru…" I sighed "You scared me…"

"Move…we shouldn't stay out too long" he replied turning around and heading back to base.

"So…you're my scort?" I said smiling as I followed her "I guess I should be honored, shouldn't I?"

"Like I said…we should avoid been alone as much as we can, idiot…"

"well…look who's talking…" I replied annoyed.

"I'm not alone. You're standing right there…"

"Oh…you know what I mean stupid narcissist…!"

"You're not the only one with shikis following your steps…"

"Aha! So Lin-san's shikis have been babysitting you?" I giggled.

"Unlike you, Mai, I'm not trouble prone"

"Well…excuse me…" I complained annoyed.

Naru didn't say a word, as we kept walking to the base. He seemed to be in bad mood, but apparently he was trying to no retaliate on me. He was probably in bad mood because of his lack of tea today. Somehow…I felt a little guilty.

"Nee…Naru…." I said shyly "I…I'm sorry…"

"What for?"

"Ehmmm…. About your tea, I know I was supposed to make it, but we ended up being attacked by those gaki. I'm sorry… you must have spent it really badly without it"

Naru stopped for a while and sighed.

"Mai, much as I like tea, it doesn't worth someone getting hurt"

"Yeah…but I know…how much you like tea…so I can't help but feel guilty"

"Heh…idiot…"

"Hey…you give a little more appreciation…I was worried about you, narcissist jerk!"

"Mai, if you don't start walking now. I'll leave you behind."

I glared at his back and ran after him. The base very cold and the lightning were pretty pale. I spotted both Lin-san and Kei staring on the screens. The first one was working diligently (as usual on Lin-san), and the second one was spinning bored in his chair as he bit something that seemed as a steamed bun. Rei was leaning over the table working on something with her tongue sticking out of her mouth due to the concentration. Naru walked to Lin-san and began checking. The temperatures, I assumed.

"Hiya, Mai…" he said "You're awfully early…aren't you? Hungry?"

"Where did you get those?"

"Well… our mother send them to us before the case began, so we brought them over, but we hadn't had chance to share them with everyone"

So they were their mother's. It meant that those were Chinese buns, which explained it all. They probably wanted to share them with Lin-san. I walked to the table and grabbed one as I looked at what Rei was doing.

"What is that?" I asked.

"I'm mapping the manor…" she replied.

"Oh! Really?"

I got closer to have a look and nearly choked. I had to bring my hand to my mouth in order to stifle my laughter. The thing that she was working was nothing more than a bunch of meaningless lines and boxes with letters.

"Hehe…I thought you said you were doing a map, not some abstract drawing, Rei…" I smiled.

"What are you talking about? It _is_ a map…"

Kei came over and took a look of the "map" from over my shoulder and then laughed nosily.

"Just…haha…what the hell is that? It's horrible…"

Rei clucked in annoyance and turned away a little embarrassed.

"Well…excuse me. That's why I said I wasn't good at this from the very beginning. You were the one who insisted!"

"Well, I never thought that you were actually…_that_ bad. Hey Lin-san, what do you think about it?" Kei said picking the paper and showing it to the stoic Chinese assistant.

Lin –san took off his look from the screen and glanced at the "map" that Kei was holding. He shook his head and let out a small smile.

" Ohggg…All right, all right…" cried Rei with her face redder than a tomatoe. She grabbed the paper from Kei's hands and made it into a ball " I'll tell Hikaru to make it tomorrow…geez"

"If you're going to waste your time playing around, I suggest you to do it somewhere else…" said Naru annoyed " Mai, weren't you suppose to tell us your dream?"

"Oh right…"

I began telling them about my dream, from the woman with the blood stained kimono to the dilapidated shrine in the middle of the forest with that horrible tree. Naru didn't take off his piercing blue eyes of me during the whole interview.

"Is that all?" asked Naru once I finished telling them.

"Mmm…so it's a female ghost. Geez…woman can really be scary…" said Kei rubbing the back of his head.

"A shrine with a creepy tree…mmm well, that's usual in shintoism, perhaps that Miko from your team might know something about it. We could ask her…" suggested Rei.

Naru nodded.

" I'll ask Fudo-san about it, and perhaps, Yasuhara-san will be able to find out something related to this woman…"

"What about the shrine? Do you want to have someone take a look of it?" asked Lin-san.

"No…that ghost seems dangerous, and that place might be its lair. We shouldn't take any risk until we know for sure how to handle it…"

"Mmm…what about let our shiki take a look around?" suggested Kei.

"That might be good, but we don't want to provoke this spirit yet, so we should be careful…"

"Uhm…they'll just take a look around."

"All right! Well…we still got a couple of hours before the others get up…so..." Kei turned to me smiled mockingly " be a good girl, go to sleep , and do more researching would ya?"

I glared at the male twing annoyed as I laid down on the couch. My eyelids felt heavy and before I'd realized, I was already deeply asleep.

When I woke up, the sun filled the base. Naru, Lin-san, Kei and Rei were gone and instead I found Bou-san looking at me grinning.

"Yo…you finally wake up, young lady…" he laughed " You're quite a heavy sleeper, aren't you?"

" Oh, shut up " I laughed " Where's Naru?"

"Shibuya-san and his parents went with Lin-san and Kei-san to the hospital to visit Fudo-san "replied John.

"Yep…Naru went away and left us with all the heavy work. Honestly…" complained Ayako.

"Well…Naru, will always be Naru, right?" I laughed.

" The job would be less, if certain people actually worked instead of waste their time snoozing around…" Masako said with an evil smirk. She was sitting in front of the screens keeping an eye on them.

"I was gathering information!" I excused myself "where is the rest of the team?"

"The young man went to village to do some research. The Abe girl said something about needing a bath, Sasaki-san is there with Masako and Momoka-san is working on something about a map"

Remembering the incident of the map made me chuckle.

"So…what are we doing today?"

"Well…Naru didn't leave any task for us to do…" replied Bou-san "So…I guess we can relax for a bit…"

A break….Maybe this was what they called the peace before the storm.


	7. Chapter 7

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**ANOTHER CHAPTER. I hope this chapter is interesting and it fill everyone expectatives. :3. There's a little bit of explanation in this chapter, so let's see if you can figure out which way the story is taking. **

**R&R**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #7**

_I was suddenly surrounded by darkness, which meant that I was dreaming again. Naru was going to kill for snoozing out during my working time. Now again…I was working while I dreamt, right? _

_I looked around, expecting to find myself standing in one of the many corridors of the manor, but surprisingly, I wasn't. In fact, I wasn't in the manor at all. I wasn't standing in front of the shrine, but it looked different. It wasn't messy and dilapidated; instead it was clean and with no weeds. The creepy tree, was green and in full bloom._

_Suddenly, I noticed something that I hadn't noticed in my other dream, may be because it'd been too dark and too weedy. The shrine was in the edge of a cliff!_

_I glanced over the edge and saw that it was really high. I wouldn't like to fall from there. Suddenly, I heard some giggles behind me. I turned around and found two girls playing around the tree. (1)The tallest had long black hair, pale face and a white and scarlet kimono, the shortest and who seemed to be the youngest as well, wore a red kimono and her hair was tied in low tail. The girls were playing happily around, chasing each other. I smiled, but then a chill ran up my back; I turned to the shrine and saw how the twins came out from the tree and stared at the girls with that wicked smile. The children stretched their hands and pointed at them, and suddenly I heard a scream. The oldest girl had tripped and she had fallen over the edge, her sister had caught her hand and was struggling to pull her back up._

_The twins were suddenly behind the struggling girl: dancing, singing and whispering thing to her ear. The girl's look suddenly went blank, just as if she had been put into a trance. She looked at her sister and smiled maliciously before letting go her hand._

_Everything turned black in a blink of an eye. Suddenly, I was no longer standing in the shrine; instead I was standing in the front door of the manor. A group of people surrounded me. They were wearing a strange yellow kimono that was strangely familiar. A man, who seemed to be the leader, was talking to them. He turned around and entered the manor, followed by the rest of the group. _

_The blackness engulfed me again, and now I was standing in the middle of the central garden. I put my hands over my mouth as I watched horrified the scene. There were death bodies everywhere, many of them mutilated and gutted; pools of blood covered the grass, the corridors and the paper screens over the doors. It was a horrible sight. I saw the female ghost moving slowly through the corridor dragging a body. Someone wearing a yellow kimono…_

"_There was where my nightmare began…" a soft voice said behind my back. _

_I turned around and saw a young girl staring at me. She wore one of those strange kimonos. She was probably one of the people I had seen in the front door._

"_Who…who are you?" I asked._

" _Sakuya…my name is Sakuya" she replied sadly (2)_

"_You're one of the spirits trapped in this manor, aren't you?"_

"_No one can leave this place…we're bound here due to that curse"_

"_A curse? What curse? Can you tell me?"_

"_People have bad feelings, and bad feelings corrupt the spirits…then darkness comes and engulfs everything on its path…and they came back" she replied "Now it's angry…and hungry. It'll keep feeding…and feeding…"_

"_You mean the woman?"_

"_No…she's just like the rest of us…only a vessel…but she's a lot more corrupted…"_

"_How can we stop her? How can I release you, Sakuya-san?"_

_Sakuya shook her head. She took my hands and felt that something was pressed against my palm._

" _The mulberry tree…be careful with the mulberry tree…"_

_Before I could I asked what she meant with that, I felt her hands pressing against my chess and I began to fall ….and fall…into the darkness._

I woke up startled, panting and sweating. I raised my look and I found two cobalt eyes looking straight at me with a lifted eye brow.

"Mai, if you're unable to sleep at night that's not my problem; but I'd appreciate if you refrained from sleeping during working hours"

"NARU! " I shouted. I was too startled to even bother to reply him with an insult.

"You don't need to shout, idiot. I'm right in front of you…"

"Naru! I had a dream! I think it's important!"

Naru looked at me and then turned to Lin.

"Lin…bring everyone here…"

Lin-san nodded and walked out of base, some minutes later, the rest of the crew entered the room and sat in the couches around me.

" Explain…" Naru ordered.

I told them everything from my dream, when I got to the part were Sakuya-san had pushed me out of the dream I remembered the thing she had gave me and I looked my hand.

"NO WAY!" I cried out making everyone jump.

" What's wrong, Mai?" asked Bou-san.

"Yes, Mai-san…" said John worried.

"Sakuya-san gave me something in that dream…if it was a dream, the wasn't supposed to be real…but…"

I raised my hand to show them. Right there over my palm, there was a black iron stake wrapped with a white paper.

"I've seen those before…" said Ayako " That's one of the nails used to nail Wara ningyo (3)"

"Oh…you mean those straw dolls that woman used to curse the people they despised?" asked Yasuhara.

"Yes…they have other uses beside cursing people though. " explained Ayako " some people tie a strap of their clothing to them and then, they pin them to a tree in shrine. It's said that the doll with take the bad feelings and misfortunes to the other world through the tree…"

"And what's this paper…?" Asked John looking at the wrinkled paper.

"May I take a look?" asked Rei. She picked the paper and examined it carefully.  
"is it?" asked Kei.

"Yes…it is. It's a paper spell…judging by the symbols, it's an old one…and for what I can discern…it's from the Ashiya clan…"

"Well…yeah, every time they're around it means trouble…"(4) Kei said annoyed.

"What kind of paper spell?" asked Naru.

"Mmm…seems like one to command on fire"

"Why would the ghost give it to Mai?" asked Masako.

"Ugg…Yasuhara-san. Did you find any important information?"

"Yes, I did boss. It's interesting…this manor has quite a dark story. According to some old files I found in the village, this manor was built during the Heian and belonged to the Kushimi. The Kushimi family was a powerful merchant family who specialized in silks. They were the main suppliers for the Mikado. Unfortunately tragedy struck them, and the inhabitant began to die away mysteriously. The Mikado send a group of onmyouji to check on the matter, but they never returned. The rest of the inhabitants died away before anyone could leave the manor. The villagers spread the rumor of the manor being cursed, and it was abandoned for many many years until Fudo-san bought it and began the restoration works. Also…I'm not sure if it might be relevant, but I found a curious thing…"

"Curious…?"

"Yes, since the family produced silk for the Mikado. The breeded silk worms, so they had a great plantation of Mulberry trees. Mulberry trees are used to feed the silk worm because they're thought to increase the production. That plantation was recently destroyed in order to build the parking lot…Now, you see…I went to the police archives and looked for any information about disappearances in this zone. According to the archives, one or two people disappear around this place every month, but after the parking lot was built…the number increased to ten! Isn't that kind of suspicious?"

'Mulberry trees…' I thought.

"Oah! Sakuya-san told me…_ be careful with the mulberry tree…_" I said.

"Mmm…mulberry trees…mmmm…" Rei said thoughtful " oi! If the mulberry leaves were used to feed the silk worms…then those trees were probably very important for the family…perhaps, the tree that Mai saw in the shrine…is a mulberry tree, too…"

"Oh…and then those twins, they should be the tree's spirits"

"Well that doesn't make sense. Tree spirits aren't evil…they simply aren't!" said Ayako firmly.

"Well…some trees might be" said Kei smiling nervously.

"Well…actually, in German folklore…mulberry trees are believed to be evil. "said John " the legend says that the devil uses its roots to polish his boots"

"So…you're saying all this is the trees fault?" asked Ayako annoyed.

"No one is saying that, old hag…" said Bou-san " It's just a possibility…"

"Who are you calling old?"

"May be the tree wasn't evil…but it _became_ evil…"suggested Hikaru.

"Uh…? How could that happen?"

"Uhm…maybe because of the wara ningyo?"

"Because of people sending curses?" asked John.

"Not curses…but the Impaling the Sin ritual…" she said " just think about it…If the tree spirits were filled with all the people's negative feelings…it might get corrupted…"

_People have bad feelings, and bad feelings corrupt the spirits…_

Sakuya's voice echoed in my head. The twins were actually the mulberry trees spirits who had been corrupted by the negative feeling of the people, but then…what did that had to do with the ghost?

"What about the female ghost?" asked Naru.

" Well…I can't tell…many people died here."

"Which means…it could be anyone…" sighed Bou-san. " Ne, Naru…what are we going to do? May be we should burn this manor and leave like that. The spirits would vanish with it…"

"But…I don't think that would work…" said Hikaru biting her lip "In order to burn destroy the curse using fire…we would need to destroy this manor clean, but this kind of buildings had many other complementary buildings outside such the servitude barracks, and there are also underground tunnels that were used to hide treasures and a emergency exits. Even if we burned this entire building…those structures would remain…and the haunting wouldn't vanish…"

"Then what?" asked Bou-san rubbing his head " Exorcising?"

"Matsuzaki-san could perfume a cleansing using the surrounding trees. That way we would cleanse most of the spirits of the manor " said Naru.

"But Naru…" said Ayako " Even if I do that, the most wicked spirits won't be cleansed…"

"But at least we would have lowered their number…"

"Well…I guess that's better than nothing…"

"All right! I'll do the cleasing!" Ayako said.

**(1) To clear things up, I won't be using the plot of KUON because, the game's plot is quite confusing and besides it doesn't work too well with the story. :/ so I'm using and Original Version of the plot.**

**(2) For effects from this story...I'm assuming that Sakuya did die at the end of the Yang fase of the game.**

**(3) Those are the famous japanese straw dolls used for cursing. I won't be explanining details now since I'm planning to use it in future cases again.**

**(4)GAME SPOILER ALERT! In popular legends, it was told that Abe no Seimei main rival was Ashiya Doman ( who casually is the main antagonist of KUON), so this reference indicates that even now days the Ashiya clan and the Abe clan still doesn't get too well. Again this is something i'll explain with more detail in on of the future cases.**

**All right those were my notes to the chapter. I hope you all like it and please leave a review.**


	8. Chapter 8

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**All right this was one of the hardest chapters I have had to write so far. I just hope it had turned ok…(;_;)**

**I'd appreciate if you would leave a review to tell me how you liked it. Please!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #8**

Ayako was in the back garden, wearing her usual Miko attire. Close to her, Aki was laying against a wall holding her sheathed sword. Fearing, that the stronger spirits from the manor showed any violent resistance that might put Ayako's safety in danger, Kei had suggested sending someone from our team with her just in case that the things turned violent, and Aki was most likely the appropriate.

The rest of us (With the exception of Yasuhara and the Davises, Naru had told them to leave just in case thing went wrong and turned out too dangerous) stayed in base, watching the scene through one of the cameras. Everyone was nervous and we all hoped that everything would go all right. I had, finally, managed to prepare Naru his tea, and he was certainly in much a better mood.

"Mmm…I wonder how's that that girl walks around carrying that katana and nobody seems to care… " muttered Bou-san looking at the monitors.

"Is it bad, Takigawa-san?" asked John.

"Well…no, unless she goes around slicing other people's heads, I guess..."

"Haha…" lughed Kei " Aki might be a bit cold and sometimes, ill tempered, but she wouldn't go around doing that"

"Even though…someone walking around with a katana is something weird, nowadays…"

"The Sasaki house has quite a reputation, but they're not very popular; they rather keep a low profile. Even though, they have been recognized by the emperor himself as loyal servants and each of the family members have a special license to carry weapons."

"Also…her katana can't kill anyone. Sure it would hurt if you got hit by it, but unless you're really unfortunate I don't think you would get killed" I said.

"What are you talking about? Mai…it's a sword…and swords are dangerous. D-a-n-g-e-r-o-u-s!" said Bou-san frowning.

"Well…yes….That's true, but the _Ryu no Iki_, her katana is a blunt sword. It can only cut spirits and demons, not living things"

"So, Sasaki-san can't hurt people? I've worked with you a couple times before, but to be honest…I've never seen her participate…"

"Yes…we usually keep Aki as last resort, unless we're facing a demon or something like that. Aki's exorcising technique is…ehm…well, unpleasant, so we avoid to use it unless is really necessary." Replied Kei as he kept typing in his laptop.

"What does mean?" asked Masako.

"Among us…Aki's style is the most offensive. She literally destroy the demon or soul, and sends it straight to hell…" he replied lowering his shoulders. I saw Masako gasp in horror, Bou-san frowned and even Naru and Lin-san turned to us.

"That's…that's horrible…" Masako said.

"Indeed…that's why we try not to use it. The Sasaki style was always intended to destroy demons, or most likely the souls that are no longer human. Their moral code forbids them to hurt anything that is out of their qualifications" explained Rei.

"Hai…most of our cases are taken care by my sister; if turns out to be a curse, I take care of it; but if it's only confused spirit…Hikaru or Mai would be able to cleanse it. It works perfectly…"

"Really…you, kids are amazing " said Bou-san surprised.

"We are, aren't we?" I said smiling.

"Hmph…"Masako said covering her mouth " Except for Mai…the only great ability she has, is the fact that she can perfectly fall sleep _anywhere_"

"Masako you…"

"We're not that great. In fact, you guys are amazing…" Hikaru said sweetly "Shibuya-san is the great Oliver Davis, you have wonderful Miko, and a powerful monk; also John's ability and Hara-san's capacity. Lin-san's is rally powerful, too, and Yasuhara-san is an excellent researcher…"

"Haha…you say it as if you knew us since always…" Bou-san said blushing.

"I might not…but, Mai has told me everything about you and also…I can see what is in you. That's how I can tell…"she said smiling " In fact…working with you is such a great experience…"

"Talking about experience…"began Kei " Ne…Mai, have you finished your homework? I don't want to have Ashitaka following around because you did bring it in…"

"Oi! I totally forgot!"

Everyone in the room laughed, Lin-san smiled at me and even Naru showed a small smile.

"Noll…!" Lin-san said in alarm.

Naru walked and checked the screen and his eyes went wide. The rest of us walked there to see what was going on the screen.

Ayako had finished the ritual, but now she was backing away with a horrified look. Aki was standing in front of her with her sword drawn in an offensive posture.

"What is going on in there?" Naru said frowning.

" Give me a second…" Kei said. He began typing trying to reach Aki's communication line-

" Aki! Aki! What's going on down there?"

"One of the spirits isn't pleased with the purifying ritual…" Aki's plain voice replied. "Kei…it's presence is too corrupted. It might not be a human anymore…"

"Bloody hell!" cursed Kei " Aki…hang on in there. We'll send the reinforcement…"

"KEI!" shouted Aki pointing another screen.

The camera in the central garden was showing some nasty looking black thing crawiling out of the pond. I covered my mouth with my hands. It seemed like a man whose body had merged with a fish.

"What? This is not good…this is so not good…" said Kei " Shibuya-san!"

Naru nodded.

"We must get rid of those creatures " Naru said " Takigawa-san, you go and help Matsuzaki-san"

"Who will handle the one in the pond?" asked Bou-san.

"I can't take care of it…" John offered.

"And I'll go with him…" said Rei.

Naru nodded.

"Mai, Hara-san and Momoka-san, you'll stay here in base with Lin, Kei-san and me"

"But…Naru!" I began.

"Mai…you better listen. This spirits aren't good…we stand no chance against them…" Hikaru said grabbing my arm " if we go…we'll just be in the way…"

I bit my lip and nodded. Rei, John and Bou-san nodded and ran out of base. The remaining of us sank our looks on the screens. Aki was fighting with a strange creature that looked like an ape. Ayako was behind chanting the kuji, and sometime later Bou-san appeared, probably chanting his mantra. In the other screen, Rei and John were facing the fish-man thing. John was reading his prayers and Rei was keeping the thing from attacking him.

The anxiety was eating from the guts. I felt too useless watching them, I could only pray for them to be safe. The lights suddenly began flicking. I grabbed Naru's sleeve scared, to my surprise, he did not brush my hand away.

"Something…is heading here… It's a female presence." Hikaru said "I think…it might the woman from your dreams, Mai…"

"Eh?" I said terrified.

"Damn it!" Kei said "Seems like I'll have to put hands in this. All right….I'll try to keep the barrier up until the others get here! _On baishiramantaya sowaka__.__ On ishanaya intaraya sowaka__.__On jiterashi itara jibaratanō sowaka__.__ On hayabaishiramantaya sowaka__.__ On nōmaku sanmanda basaradan kan__.__ On aganaya in maya sowaka__. __On irotahi chanoga jiba tai sowaka__.__ On chirichi iba rotaya sowaka__.__ On a ra ba sha nō sowaka_(1) "

As Kei began chanting, I felt the barrier around us getting stronger, but as it grew stronger the building began trembling. My grip on Naru grew stronger. A feeling in my guts told me that something very bad…was about to happen. Lin-san had stood up and he was now standing by our side, ready to call his shiki if it was necessary.

Suddenly, a person appeared at the door, but it wasn't one of our mates. It was woman wearing a red patched kimono. Her skin was pale, her eyes were filled with hatred. Her hairl fell messily over her shoulders and blood leaked from her mouth.

"Mai…?"

"No…she isn't the one I saw in my dreams…" I cried shaking my head as I hugged Naru's arm horrified.

The woman turned her head at us making a horrible sound. She tried to enter into the room, but the barrier repelled her. Kei kept chanting looking straight at the woman. She opened her mouth and let out an awful scream. Something was crawling out from her mouth, nose and clothes, something long and with a lot of legs.

Masako let out a scream of horror as the insects began crawling into the room.

"Centipedes! " I cried out.

"Uh…! God of mercy, send us your strength and protect us from evil…" Hikaru began praying as she waved her rosary " God of thunder, lent us your power…vanquish the evil, destroy it now!"

A lightning volt struck the centipedes crawling to us. Lin-san whistled and his shiki began to attack the centipedes that started to come close to us. Kei was keeping the barrier up, if he stopped chanting the barrier protecting us would go out and then we'd be dead. I saw the familiar glows of his shikigami protected him from the centipedes, but even though, I wasn't sure of how long would it last. I could see that he was getting tired.

"Naru…!" I said.

"Hara-san…Mai… get onto the table…" he said coldly.

We obeyed, while I was helping Masako to get onto the table ( God…why did she keep wearing those kimonos? They're really difficult to handle), a new scream was heard, but this time the scream was more like a howling, a painful howling. My look turned to the door and I gasped in horror as I saw how the woman's neck began to stretch until the skin began to torn. A long red body with long legs began to emerge from her body. The woman herself…was a centipede. The rest of the woman's body fell to the ground as if it was an empty glove, as the centipede body straightened and the woman's face(now on the centipedes head) turned to look at us with devilish grin. Her face was so horrible, that I had no words to describe it. (2)

It began charging against the barrier that Kei could barely keep around us. The boy was panting and sweating. His face had turned pale…just as I thought, the barrier was beginning to drain up his energy. It was a matter of time before it gave away, and then…we….

"_Naumaku sorobayada taakyatayatanyata an biraji biraji makashakyara bajiri satasata sarati sarati tarai tarai bidamani sanbajani tarama" _

A white blast struck the centipedes back making it fall onto the ground.

"_Noubouaratannou tarayaayasarabaratasatanan"_

Another blast hit the centipede sending to the end of the corridor. John came in running and Kei fall on to the ground panting; the barrier went off as he did. Another bunch of lighting orbs entered the room and killed the remaining centipedes in the room.

"Is everyone all right?" John asked while he helped Kei back on his feet.

"We are…" Naru replied " Kei-san?"

"I'm fine…" he panting " Just…a little…tired…"

"John…where's Rei?" I asked worried.

"Ah…she must be outside…exorcising the centipede spirit…" John replied " Rei-san…"

We could still hear Rei's chantings coming from the corridor, followed by the sound of broken wood.

"is everyone ok?" Ayako asked entering to the base holding Bou-san with Aki's help.

"Bou-san!"

"Don't worry Mai…just tripped…" he smiled at me.

"Aki…" panted Kei " Rei…go help her…"

Aki looked at him and nodded, as she let Bou-san sit on the couch.

"Please…remain in here until we come back. Outside is dangerous now. Hikaru… you must keep the barrier up, since Kei can't do it"

"Uh…I understand…"

Aki ran into the corridor to help Rei, as the rest of us tried to recover our breaths. I my heart was pounding so hard that I thought I might drop dead anytime soon.

"Matsuzaki-san…are you ok?" Naru asked.

"Uhm…I'm ok, but hell, Naru…those things…I don't know what the hell they are!" cried Ayako.

"She's right Naru…" panted Bou-san "Those things…I've never seen anything like that. My mantras did seem to have effect on them…but, I don't think the words alone were doing much…"

"If it hadn't for the Sasaki girl…that thing…I don't even want to think it" sighed Ayako "this is getting to dangerous, Naru…do you really think we'll be able to handle it?"

Naru was standing there thoughtful. He was paler that usual and definitely worried.

"Are they really spirits?" he said.

"They are…but they got too corrupted and became a kind of devil. Why do they have those…animalistic features…I can't tell…" replied Kei.

"Kei-san…do you have an idea of how can we exorcise them?" Naru proceeded.

"Mmm… We can. We've handled some like them before, but…since we don't know how many of them are left, and we still need to get rid of our main ghost…I don't know if we can make it…"

"Then…"

A loud scream of pain interrupted his words. Everyone looked at each other. That had been Rei, there was no doubt of it.

**This is the mantra version of the Ku-Ji ( Rin, pyo, to, sha, kai , jin, retsu, zai, zen). Each of the phrases is the equivalent to each of the words, they're usually accompanied by hand postures, but I didn't bother to described it.**

**Just like Mai, I really don't know how to describe her better, so here's the visual aid for each of the creatures that appeared in this chapter:**

**The creature john & rei faced /asset/171914/12/11039547**

**The one that attacked Aki, Ayako **** /asset/171913/12/11039547 **

**The centipede lady /asset/171901/12/11039547**** (honestly this is one is the one I dislike most…maybe because I hate centipedes and their many little legs)**

**Ok…please tell me if the chapter was ok, good, or bad…I'd appreciate it so that my writng skills can improve. This kind of action scenes are kind of hard to write especially for me (-.-|||) so if you review telling me how did it turn I'd really appreciate it.**

**Stay tuned! Sayonara mina **


	9. Chapter 9

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Well…another chapter :) . I hope to finish this case soon. I start college next week and I won't have as much time to update as now. How many cases would you like me to make? Plz review and tell me.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad you liked my chapter.**

**Celestial Star12**** : haha…yes. I was planning to do that from the beginning, but knowing Naru he wouldn't show jealousy so openly. I didn't want to make him to OOC , so I hpe you like the way I put it.**

**KyGazer**** Thanks! Yes probably Martin would have known a few tricks to handle this, but Naru wouldn't have accepted due to his pride (I think),besides, the case was turning a little too dangerous for them and there's a reason of why Naru doesn't want them to take part of it, too. You'll know what I'm talking about by the end of this case.**

**All right, this chapter is where some things might be explained. To leave something clear…. This was the conclusion that Naru got, but you all can get your own conclusions about the case. ;P Anyway…enjoy the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #9**

Rei's scream gave me chills; without thinking I jumped down from the table and ran out of base. I heard somebody calling at me, but I didn't return.

The corridor was literally a mess, the shoji doors were all broken and scattered around the floor. I hoped that, Fudo-san wouldn't mind about that.

I saw Aki standing in front of me. She seemed to be struggling with something. Her body had been covered by something that seemed to be spider webs, and she could barely move. I began to look around searching for Rei and my pounded so hard, that it might have jumped out from my chest.

Rei was by the corner of the corridor, laying on the floor unconscious; her clothes were all torn and stained with blood. I put my hands over my mouth terrified. It was just like the vision I'd had the night that we were attacked by the gaki!

_Hasizoroe, hasizoroe._

'No…not them, if they were here…then the ghost was probably with them…' I thought terrified. Aki had stopped struggling, and she seemed to be listening. It came from the corridor in front of Rei. Her shiki began to fly furiously around her.

_Through a bamboo blind, I see a woman and a bamboo clothes box. I hear a sound  
of a hand drum._

The song seemed to get closer, and it seemed to be followed by the sound of something being dragged. 'The ghost!' I thought as I felt on my knees.

_Scattered blood colors a carpet red-hot.  
Silk thread spins a soul of a sham._

Rei's shiki charged against something in the other corridor. Either of us could see it, but we both suspected what it was. I covered my mouth…

_A bamboo clothes box is tied up with a string and wavers calmly.  
It resembles the scene that a pleased baby shakes a body at the time of  
Hasizoroe ceremony.  
__A threatening ceremony to continue earnestly.  
Hasizoroe._

As the song was ending, I saw the twins appear around the corner. They were gigging and dancing like I had seen them do in my dream, and immediately behind them appeared the ghost.

My eyes went wide, her messy black hair covering her face, her bloodied hands and the red stained kimono, just like I remembered her. She moved making an horrible sound of bones cracking, an slowly she began to head to Rei's unconscious body. I wanted to cry, and to scream out for help, but my voice didn't obey me.

'No…'

The woman stopped in front of her limp body, as if she was examining at her.

'_NO…get away…'_

I saw her bloody hand stretch to her. Aki struggled desperately trying to free herself, but the spider webs were already covering her mouth and part of her face. The twins were dancing around, but suddenly they stopped and turned to us. Their evil eyes fell on me and ugly smile appeared on their faces.

"Ne…brother…it's that onesan again…"

"Yes…yes…she really wants to play, doesn't she?"

"she keeps coming to us…"

"May be we should play with her…"

"Play…play…"

The children giggled and suddenly they were gone. Gone? A cold hand grabbed my arm and tossed me against the floor. My back felt heavy…almost as if someone was sitting on me…wait…sitting? I turned my face a little to look over my shoulder and my eyes went wide. The twins…they were over me, their faces over mine with that evil smirk.

"Let's play nesan…"

"What should we play…?"

"Have you been good…"

"Nesan…you should be a good girl…"

"Yes, yes…a good girl…you shouldn't look."

Look? Look what?...Rei…I turned my face to look at Rei. The woman had grabbed her arm; she was, now, dragging her through the corridor she had come by. The shiki were charging against her, but it was useless. She kept moving on even though.

"You shouldn't have looked…"

"bad girl…bad girl…"

"Should be punished…"

"Punish…punish…"

"What should we do?"

"Rip her eyes out…"

Oh no…what where they going to do. Their small cold eyes grabbed my face and I saw their little white hands getting close to my eyes. I closed them in panic.

'_Please…someone…help me!?_

Suddenly, I heard a whistle piercing the silence. I felt how my back became lighter and I opened my eyes. The twins had jumped away from me and now they were glaring at someone behind me with hatred before vanishing into the air.

"Lin-san…" I whispered.

"Mai…" someone lifted me from the floor. A pair of cobalt eyes were looking at me with a mix of anger, annoyance and relief.

"Naru….Naru! Aki….help Aki…she's in there, covered by that!" I cried pinting at the white ball that had been formed in front of me.

Naru turned to Lin-san, and he nodded rushing to Aki.

"Mai…are you all right?"

" I…I…Rei…" I said as I began to remember what had happened " Rei…she's got Rei…we must save her!"

"Who's got Rei-san?"

" The ghost! The woman ghost! She took her…I saw her do it. That's why the children wanted to rip my eyes!"

"Mai…I need you to calm down…now…"

"But…but…"

Naru helped me back on my feet. I wobbled a little, my legs felt shaky. Naru held my arms and took me back into base. Everyone began to ask me if I was all right, or hurt, but I could barely understand them. I saw Kei kneeling on the floor, staring blankly at the ground. His body was trembling. He knew…. I could tell…he knew that the ghost had taken his sister, even if he hadn't seen it himself, just like Naru did with Gene. This twins and their psychic connection…

I let go of Naru's grip and knelt in front of Kei. His eyes were glassy, and I knew he was holding his tears. I put my arm around his shoulders and tried to comfort him. Lin-san entered holding Aki. She was bleeding a little and limping. Lin-san let her on the couch carefully as everyone looked us quizzically. Ayako turned to her and began to treat her injuries.

"She's isn't there, Noll…" Lin-san said softly and I felt Kei stifled under my grip.

Naru did not reply. He looked at us and lifted an eyebrow before turning to Aki.

"Sasaki-san…" he said softly "What happened to you?"

"I can tell you something…" she replied making face of pain "I know what happened to the restoration workers that were found in the garden…ag…"

"What do you mean…?"

"That thing Lin-san rescued me out of…that…cocoon…. Once you're inside, it's almost as if you were getting digested. It's painful…luckily, you took me out. If I stayed there longer…I might have turned a mass of ground beef, too…Augh…"

"Isn't someone missing?" asked Masako looking around.

"Uh? Yeah…where's the Abe girl…?" asked Bou-san.

Kei clenched his fists, and I lowered my face. Aki looked away.

"She's been taken by the ghost…" Naru replied.

"WHAT?" Bou-san, Ayako, John and Masako said.

"Noll...this is getting dangerous. May be we should contact the professors…"

"This is my case, Lin. We'll solve it in our way…" Naru said firmly.

"Noll…this girl's life is in danger…"

"I know…but we had a deal…" he whispered.

I frowned. Was a deal more important than a person's life? I looked at Kei. He'd gone mute. Hikaru moved to his other side, and both of us began rubbing his back.

"She's gonna be fine…" I said soothingly "Rei is strong, and Sakuya and the others won't let anything happen to her. We'll bring her back…and everything will be okay…"

"Kei-san…"

Kei barely noticed Naru calling him. He raised his face a little to show him he was listening.

"Are capable to perform an exorcism as your sister did?"

"I guess… but my area is curses. It might not be as successful as my sister's…"

"That will do …" replied Naru. He picked his note book and began flipping its pages.

"Ne…Naru…" Bou-san began "maybe John or me should perform the exorcism. You heard the kid…his exorcisms might not work…"

"Like I said…it'll be fine…" Naru repeated.

"But…"

"Noll…Takigawa-san is right. In his current condition, he might not be able to perform efficiently…"

I looked at Kei. He had hidden his face in his hands and I could see his shoulders shake a little. Stupid, Naru. Could he see that he was worried? What about Rei…wasn't he going to say or do anything?

"If my assumption is correct, it _will_ work, as long as it's him who does it…"

"What?"

"And would you be kind enough to share that assumption, would you?" I said annoyed with his insensitivity. He'd lost a twin. He 'd lost Gene…he should know how much pain was Kei feeling right now. Rei was still alive somewhere out there… and he wasn't planning to rescue her?

Naru glared at me.

"Kei-san…the paper Mai brought back from her dream…you said it belonged to the Ashiya Clan, right?"

"Yes…so what?"

"The onmyouji that disappeared in this manor, were Ashiya Doman's disciples. Ashiya Doman was an onmyoji in the emperors court along with Abe no Seimei, and his rivalry was certainly clear. Ashiya's hometown was in fact here. He used to live in the shrine with his two daughters: Ashiya Utsuki and Ashiya Kureha"

A flashback came into my mind: two girls playing in the cliff; the girl who pushed the other to her death.

"So…you think the ghost is one of the onmyoji who went missing?" asked Bou-san.

"I did believe that in the beginning…" replied Naru " but according to Yasuhara-san's report. The paranormal events were taking place even before the onmyojis disappeared "

"Then who?"

"One of the Ashiya sisters died shortly before the occurrences began. Apparently, Ashiya Kureha fell from a cliff while she was outside the shrine, allegedly, pushed by her sister "

"She killed her sister?" Masako said covering her mouth horrified.

"You think she's our ghost?" asked Bou-san frowning.

" Most likely. I believed that this ghost has got to be from the Ashiya clan. If not one of the onmyoji, it's one of the daughters, and Ashiya Kureha is who fit the profile…"

"How are you so sure that it is from the Ashiya Clan…"

"The ghost in Mai's dream gave her that paper spell; besides…the ghost chose to take Rei-san, when she could have easily taken Sasaki-san or Mai, who were also there. Compare to the other two, Rei-san was the most difficult prey…even being unconscious, her shiki would have given fight. The only answer is that the ghost recognized her as a member of the Abe Clan."

"Huh…that might be…" repeated Aki.

"So she took her because of a family rivalry?" said Bou-san with a lifted eyebrow " That's a bit stupid…what about the other victims. I don't think all of them were descendants of Abe No Seimei…"

"That's true. There are still some missing pieces…but Yasuhara found something quite peculiar. "

"And what would that be, Shibuya-san? " Asked John.

"A journal that was found between the ruins of this manor, when Fudo-san began the restoration works. This journal apparently belonged to one of the daughters. Mai said that the ghost of her dream said something about a curse. According to Ashiya Utsuki's diary, the owner of this manor practiced a dark ritual for the spirits of the mulberry tree. He used the blood of a sacrifice to water the mulberry trees that were used to feed the silkworms. That way, their fortune was assured…"

"The twins…" I said "they're the mulberry spirits from the tree in the shrine…"

"The journal doesn't go into details, but we can easily guess what happened…"

"The owner forgot to fulfill the deal with the spirits and they began to take what belonged to them " said Bou-san.

"To do that they corrupted a soul to their bidding…" said Aki " Ashiya Kureha's, the girls who had died in the cliff. She would catch the people that went around this manor and kill them to feed the mulberry spirits with their blood…"

"And when they destroyed the trees to make the parking lot…the spirits became angry and began to kill for vengeance…" added Ayako.

"But why would they target the Abe kids?" asked Bou-san.

" The ritual was taught to the landlord by Ashiya Doman, so the only one who could have stopped the incidents back then…"

"Would have been our ancestor…Abe no Seimei…" finished Kei "The Mulberry twins must have believed that we had come to do, what Seimei didn't. That's why they want to get rid of us…"

"Most likely…" answered Naru closing his note book.

"So…you want me to be the bait…" Kei said coldly. I'd never heard him talk like that. He was always so joyful and cheerful, but his current voice was stern, cold and scary. "Hmph…I'll do it. My sister is alive…I know that for sure. If we get rid of that damn ghost then I'll have her back…"

Naru didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and got up.

"Do as you please. Lin, prepare everything…"

"Where are you going, Noll?"

"I've got some business to attend…"

Naru walked out of the base. I glared at his back. He acted as if he didn't care about Rei, for him finishing the case was more important than saving her life.  
I stood up and ran after him on impulse.

"Naru!" I said angrily "Just what's wrong with you egotistical jerk?"

He stopped on his heels, but didn't turn to see me.

"What about Rei? Kei is suffering! He's worried for his sister! Aren't you going to do anything to help her?"

"I have nothing to do with that matter" he replied coldly.

"How can you say that? You should know better than anyone how he is feeling! You lost Gene back then…"

Again he fell silent. I knew I'd say something that upset him. Gene's topic had always been sensitive issue for Naru, but I couldn't avoid it. He was acting heartless.

"If you're that concerned about, Kei-san's feeling…why are you here complaining at me? Shouldn't you be in there _comforting_ him?"

I was speechless. What was that suppose to mean? Naru took advantage of my silence and began to walk away. I felt furious.

" NARU! YOU STUPID SELFISH, EGOTISTICAL, NARCISIST, HEARTLESS JERK!" I shouted furiously at his back.

**So…that case has an explanation, and Mai believes that Naru is a complete jerk. Is he or is he not? Mmmm…**

**I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review to let me know your opinion. Til next time! **

**n.n **


	10. Chapter 10

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Oh…well…this was not my favorite chapter. I wasn't very content about how I wrote it ;_;**

**Anyway…Read and Review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #10**

Annoyed, as I was, I returned to the base. Ayako had finished attending Aki's wounds. It really was lucky to have two doctors in the team. Kei seemed to have recovered from his emotional shock, and he was now ordering everyone around the base. I smiled. It was nice to have him back as he used to be, that gloomy face really didn't suit him.

"Mai…"said Bou-san "where's Naru?"

"Like I care…" I snapped at him "He went out leaving all the hard work on us…like he always do. Hmph… That stupid heartless narcissist!"

"Is it okay for him to hang around alone?" asked Ayako.

"The spirits from the manor have been exorcised. The only one left is that female ghost, but since she's already taken Rei-san, I think she won't try to get anyone else…" Lin-san said typing on his laptop.

"Then…I guess it's ok…right?"

"Ok, then we'll carry the exorcism ourselves…"said Kei "I called my father to ask him for advice. He said that the mulberry spirits are a kind of earth spirit, so they can be counted as demigods. Even if the ghost is exorcised, as long as the mulberry spirits aren't gone, the curse will persist…"

"Damn…" cursed Bou-san rubbing the back of his head "So…how should we do it?"

"Ok…this is the plan; luckily for us there are still two onmyojis available…" he said looking at Lin-san who nodded. " Takigawa-san, John and Hikaru. You'll stay here in the manor with me. I'll perform the exorcism and lure the ghost out. Meanwhile…Lin-san, Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san, you'll head to the shrine, and use these…" Kei showed us the stake and a paper spell "In order to vanquish the demigods, we must destroy their vessel. This stake must be nailed into the Mulberry tree in front of shrine and then burn it with that paper spell. I know that Lin-san can't use the spells as we do, so…you'll only need to use binding spell as you nail the stake and then burn the paper along with the tree."

"I understand…" Lin-san nodded.

" I'll leave two of my shiki with you, in case yours can't handle it by themselves. Now…Mai and Aki, you too will go to the shrine and you'll find Rei and bring her back. Clear?"

"But…how do we know where she is?" I asked.

"Shiki…" he replied "Tsukimori came a while ago and told me where she's being kept. The ghost hasn't been able to harm her, thanks to the shiki; but still, she's wounded pretty badly, we must get her. He will lead you to her…"

"Hai! We'll have her back!" I said cheerfully as the green orb appeared in front of me. " You trust us, Kei"

"What about Naru?" Masako asked.

"Well…we can't wait for him…"

"He's right…" agreed Lin-san " He probably went to his parents…so, let's finish this, once for all…"

Everyone in the room nodded, and so the confrontation began.

When everything had been ready, it was already night, and as usual there was no sign of Naru. That stupid narcissist…

Aki, Lin-san, Ayako, Masako and I were walking through the forest. Tsukimori was flying around me leading us. We finally reached the old shrine, and thankfully, there were no ghost or evil twins around. The building was the same as I saw in my dream, the weeds, the rotten logs… and that creepy old tree.

"We're here…" Lin-san said.

"Yes…and that's the tree" I said pointing at the black gnarled trunk " That's the twins vessel…"

"It's almost time, isn't it?" asked Hikaru " Kei must have started…"

Lin-san checked his watch and nodded before turning at me.

"Taniyama-san…be careful" he said " If something was to happened to you…I wouldn't know how to face Noll's wrath…"

I smiled at him and laughed. As if Naru would really care at all, especially after our small quarrel earlier. Well…Naru wasn't that cold, was it? Sometimes I couldn't avoid wondering…

"Don't worry about me, Lin-san. Aki will be by my side…"I smiled at him waving my hands "we'll bring Rei back! Ne Aki?"

"Trust me, Lin-san… I'll take care of her."

"Then we'll get going. You must begin" I said looking at them with worry. " You too…take care…"

"Good luck …" Aki said.

"You too…good luck "Ayako said.

Aki and I walked away following Tsukimori. I glanced back at them one last time, before we entered the old shrine and bit my lip, whatever happens; we would come out well from this. Inside the shrine, the place was messier than it looked outside, and many of the wooden boards from the floor were already rotten. Kei had said that Tsukimori had told him that Rei was in an underground chamber. There was a passage that would take us there under the shrine and the entrance was hidden inside the shrine.

"Be careful, Mai…" Aki said walking behind me "The structure is pretty unstable "

"Yes…I don't know how we are finding that entrance. Everything looks pretty much the same in here…"

"Tsukimori should know…Kei said that…"

"Well…yeah…but Tsukimori is a shiki…" I reasoned "…and shikis can go through the walls so do you think he knows where the entrance is?"

"Uhm, that's a good point; but let's trust Tsukimori…"

We began searching around. To tell the truth, those ruins were giving me creeps. The others should have started with their respective tasks so the ghost wasn't supposed to appear around here. She probably had gone after Kei, and Bou-san and the others would exorcise her, even though…something kind of bothered me.

"Ne, Mai…"

"Hai?"

"You know…this case probably will end tonight…"

"Yes…so?"

"Are you ok with that? I mean after tonight you may not see Shibuya-san again…"

"Uh…it's not like he's going to vanish or anything…haha…so I guess, it is fine."

"HE might return to England, no?"

"Probably…" I sighed "but it's ok. I don't care…"

"Are you sure? I thought you liked him…"

My body froze instantly and my face blushed furiously as I dropped the board I'd just picked.

"W-w-what m-m-makes you say that?"

"Mmm…well, I don't know. The way you see him…besides, you were always talking about him when you first got into the team."

"I-I … Wouldn't like a self-centered narcissist heartless bastard like him!" I yelled " No…definitely no. He's so impossible…and he's always doing things by himself. He doesn't care about other people's feelings…gargh…he's a stupid narcissist tanuki!(2)"

"Ara…Tanuki?" Aki asked surprised. I could see her frown under the light of the torch.

"Yes….! He's Naru the Tanuki!" I said triumphantly.

"Why a tanuki?"

"Can't you tell…? He enjoys making everyone feel stupid, besides he's good at pretending…gosh…he's real devil, but then he turns into a charming good-looking guy…. He might fool everyone else, but not me!"I said smirking while I dug between the debris of rotten wood. "Well…I admit, he can be kind hearted sometimes…and certainly he's genius and quite, well, really good looking…"

"Well, thank you…"

"You're welcome Naru "I smiled.

Wait…Naru?

"NARU?"

"Stop screaming, idiot…" Naru replied. He was squatting between some fallen columns. His pale face seemed to glow in the dark.

"Shibuya-san…what are you doing here?" Aki asked him politely.

"Searching…"

"Searching…?" I said frowning "Searching what…?"

Before Naru could manage to reply my question, the shrine began to shake wildly. Debris from the ceiling began to fall over us.

" They must be exorcising the spirits. It probably is resisting…" I heard Aki yell over the sound of falling logs.

The floor under my feet began to creak horribly threatening to give away in any moment. Out of sudden it broke under my weight and I felt a new void under my feet. I let out loud scream as I began to fall, but then I felt something holding my hand and awful pain in my shoulder.

"NARU!" I cried out.

"I got you… " he said "hold on in there."

I looked at him scared. Why did it always have to happen to me? And why was always Naru who had to be there to catch me? I could almost hear his voice making fun of me when were out of here. Just my luck!

"Mai…stop spacing out, would you?"

"Well…sorry if I'm shocked."

"I'll pull you up. Don't let go…"

Naru gripped my hand sturdily and began to pull me up. My shoulder complained painfully. Well at least now I was sure that there was a hidden underground passage in here. Suddenly, I heard a low creak. I looked up and my eyes went wide. The rest of the floor was collapsing again. We were all going to fall….

**Tanukis are a type of yokai in Japanese folklore that is similar to kitsunes, but instead of a fox, it's actually a raccoon dog. As the the kitsunes they're shapeshifters and are known to enjoy making fun of people and leaving them as idiots. **


	11. Chapter 11

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Oh….Final Chapter for this case. There's an epilogue for the case so I hope you'll look forward to it.**

**Anyway…Read and Review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree #11**

_Everything felt so peaceful, my body was so light and miraculously the pain in my shoulder had disappeared. Instead of that giddy feeling you have when you fall from high altitudes, I felt almost as if I was floating. I opened my eyes slowly as my look cleared from the blur and found myself in the middle of the darkness. I knew this place too well.I turned around to find two cobalt eyes staring at me with a small and gentle smile. _

"_Gene!" I said happy to finally see him "where have you been? You hadn't shown in my dreams lately"_

"_I'm sorry, Mai…" he apologized with a bright smile. I wonder…when would I ever see Naru smile like that?" The curse in this place is terrible. I keeps the spirits from passing away, at the end it traps so many spirits that they end up merging with each other creating those awful creatures you met earlier"_

"_You mean those…animalistic ghosts?"_

"_Yes…if wasn't careful…I might have end trapped too…" _

"_How's that you're here now…?"_

"_Lin and your friends are breaking the curse. Little by little it's growing weak, but the mulberry spirits are yet to be destroyed…"_

"_Don't worry…Lin-san is working on it"_

_Gene shook his head silently._

" _Lin won't be able to do it alone…that tree is old, and it's roots are grown deep into the earth…"_

"_You mean…the tree is destroyed in the surface but its remaining still alive underground? Oh no!"_

"_It must be destroyed from the core…" he nodded._

"_How? Sakuya-san only gave me one stake!" I said, panic was beginning to grow in my heart. _

"_Don't worry about that…"_

"_What about the onmyouji? Kei-san's father said it had to be done by an onmyoji. "_

_Gene gave me a comforting smile._

"_Mai…everything is going to be okay. Just wake up and tell my brother…he'll know what to do. Trust him…"_

"_All right…I'll go now…" I said as I turned away and began to ran.I heard Gene whispering '_Good luck'_ behind me, before I vanished into the light._

"Mai"

I woke up in the middle of the darkness. My body felt stiff and there was a heavy pain on my shoulder and the back of my head. I rubbed it carefully and I could feel a small bump. The ground under me felt damp, rocky and cold, almost as the floor of a cavern. I let out a soft moan of pain as I stood slowly.

"Naru…" I called softly.

" I'm here…" he replied.

I turned around and found him sitting against a big rock holding a small pocket torch (probably the one he usually kept for these cases). His hair was a little messy, his face a little dirty and his shirt a little ripped. Good lord, only Naru could be messy and still look handsome?

"How long was I out?"

"Just a couple minutes…"

"Great…what happened?"

" I can only guess. I believe that the ghost must have been exorcised and it was quite resisting to leave and that caused the small earthquake we felt. It's not surprising since this seems to be a strong spirit. We must have fallen to one of the underground passages…"

I didn't bother to ask how he'd known about the passage. If I'd asked Naru probably would have bragged of his inhuman intelligence. I'm sure he just found it somewhere and never told us.

" Where's Aki?"

"She fell too…but I've not seen her"

"Well…now that makes the experience even better…" I sighed annoyed.

Why did I always end up like this with the coldest person in the world? Just my luck…the gods really have to dislike me.

"Ne, Naru… what were you doing in the shrine?"

"I already told you. I was looking for something…idiot…"

"Mind to tell what? Naru…coming here all by yourself…Lin-san is going to be furious at you…" I said trying to sound angry.

" I'm not longer underage…Lin can't tell me what to do…" he replied standing up and dusting off his pants.

"That's not…what if you've found the ghost? No one knew you were here! What the hell was so important to find that you were willing to risk your own life?"

"Curious… weren't you the one who was scolding me because I _wasn't_ looking in the first place?"

I frowned. What was he talking about? Couldn't be that…

"You were looking for Rei?" I asked without bothering to hide my surprise.

He didn't reply and that was enough to answer me. He'd been the same once ago, in one of our first cases together, in which Masako had gone missing. He'd acted coldly and uncaring, but in fact, he'd already started to look for her on his own.

" How…How did you know?"

"Psychometry…"he replied "I picked this from the corridor and used it…"

He threw something at me. It was a piece of cloth, and handkerchief, which belonged to Rei. It was dirtied with dried blood, and I knew it probably belonged to my friend. So Naru had gone looking for her immediately after he'd told us his theory, and I had called him heartless jerk! Oh…I was so regretful now.

" Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have told you all those things back then!"

"Forget it, we must find Rei-san. Can you walk?"

" Yeah…my shoulder is hurt but my feet are perfect. It's a miracle…" I said sarcastically.

Naru offered me his hand, and I used it to get up. When he acted a little nicer it really reminded me to Gene…GENE! That's right…I was supposed to tell him my dream.

"Naru! I had a dream while I was unconscious…" I began " Ge…A ghost told me that even when Lin-san burns the tree down, the mulberry spirits won't die because the tree's root won't be burned down, and so the curse won't be broken…!"

Naru looked me with wide eyes, but then returned to his usual emotionless self. He brought his hands to his chin and began ponder the matter.

"Naru…the only way to destroy that think is with a stake and fire, but that can only be done by an onmyji, and either of us is one. There's no time to contact neither Lin-san nor Kei. Besides…we don't have another stake…what are we going do?"

Naru was still thinking. I wished I could know what was going through that pretty narcissistic head, but I wasn't a psychic at all.

"There's still one onmyoji here, who might be able to do it, though…" he finally said.

"Who? " I asked puzzled.

"Mai…you really are that idiot?"

"Hey!"

"Rei-san is an onmyouji. If we find her…she might be able destroy the roots."

"Oh…I…I hadn't thought about that. " I admitted blushing.

"Then we must find her. If what I saw with psychometry…she's under the roots, that would save us time. Now let's find her…"

"What about Aki?"

"I'm sure she can catch on us, later…let's go Mai…"

I nodded. Tsukimori wasn't anywhere around, so it probably remained with Aki. He'd guide her to Rei, too, so sooner or later we'll end up meeting.

Naru grabbed my hand and we ran through those awfully dark passages. I was glad that I was with Naru, he seemed to know pretty well where we were heading, and if not, he actually was a good actor.

Suddenly, Naru stopped short making me crash softly against his warm back.

"Naru…?"

"Shh…"

He pointed in front of us and I had to cover my mouth to drown a scream. Before us, there was a bright room; the ground was stained with blood so that it almost seemed like the pattern of a carpet; in the front wall, there were some enormous black knots that I instantly recognized as the roots from the tree, on each of the roots there was something hanging from a thing thread: a white ball, that looked like a cocoon.(1)

"There…" Naru said pointing in front.

Rei was lying on the ground. Her clothes dirtied by blood. Around her, the shikis flew making a barrier. Suddenly, the sound of metal crashing woke me from my trance. I looked to the other side of the room and I saw Aki battling with another of those awful ghosts. This time it was a man wearing one of those yellow kimonos, and from his chest, the torso of a woman came out nastily (2). Aki handled him pretty well, even though she was still hurt by her earlier battle against the centipede lady. I'd rarely seen her battle, but she made it look so easy.

"Aki!" I cried out, making that horrible ghost stare directly ad me.

All right, that was a stupid thing to do Mai…congratulations. The ghost left out roar, and Naru held his arm in front of me, trying to shield me.

" Snap out… you're battling me! " Aki yelled hitting him with her sword and throwing him against the wall " Mai…! Go to Rei!"

Naru looked at me and nodded. We ran to the unconscious girl in the ground. She was very pale and there was a nasty wound on her side. Carefully, we began to shake her awake.

"Rei…Rei…" I called her " You need to wake up! We need you!"

The girl let out a soft painful cough and opened her eyes. She seemed a little confused at the beginning and then, her eyes went wide with realization. Her look traveled from me to Naru.

"Oh…God…" she coughed " Where is she?"

"She's gone…." Naru said " Rei-san…do you think you can perform an exorcism?"

"And exorcism?" she replied softly " Yes…Of course…agg…as long as I get help to stand up. What do you want me to exorcise? The crazy mutant priest over there?"

"No…we need you to bind those roots and destroy it…" Naru replied coldly.

"A binding?"

" The twins…they're the spirits in from that tree, and they're the culprits of the curse! In order to stop all this…their vessel must be destroyed! " I said.

"Uh…vessel? So it's a demigod what we're talking about?" she said trying to get up." I can do it…"

"UH! Naru…"

"What's it Mai…?"

"The Stake…we didn't look for another…how is she going to bind the roots?"

"Lin bound the tree up there… the binding spell should still be working" Naru said " Rei-san…?"

"I know…I have fire spells here…"

I loud rapping sound made the three of us look at Aki. She was panting heavily as the ghost got up from the ground with some nasty sounds. Rei said and order to her shikis and they flew to assist Aki.

"Shibuya-san…Mai…" she said with a serious tone " Help me on my feet. It's time to blow that tree down…"

Naru and I nodded. We picked her up and held her from her arms. Rei took a deep breath and put her hand in a praying position.

"_Arabati kiritikiritahati…. Arabati kiritikiritahati… Arabati kiritikiritahati " _she muttered before taking out a piece of paper from her pocket.

She brought the paper to her lips and closed her eyes as she raised her arm up over her head.

"_anala AgataH sahAyatA vijaya__daurjana"_

I suddenly felt very hot, I looked astonished when the roots began burn by itself. There was a loud painful cry as the roots turned to ashes little by little. The ghost Aki and the shikigami had been fighting had vanished.

We looked at each other. It was finally over. I can't really remember how we managed to get out from the underground passages, but when we arrived to the surface, it was already dawning and everyone was waiting for us in front of the ruined shrine.

Lin-san seemed tired, but he gave us a small smile as we walked to them. It was the first time I ever saw him so misaligned: his shirt was completely blackened by the smoke and the ashes, Masako and Ayako looked pretty similar. Bou-san had his shirt ripped pretty badly and his pants were torn in some spots, his hair wasa mess and his look was tired, but he still had a wide grin on his lips. John wasn't to far behind, his clothes were pretty much like Bou-san's and he was too smiling. Hikaru was tired and dirtied standing quietly by Kei.

Kei was the one who looked the most tired. Of course he would, he was not used to do exorcism and his face clearly said that he could not understand how his sister made it look so easy. His face was enlightened when he saw us appear with Rei holding on Naru's and Aki's shoulders. He ran straight at us and hugged her sister, making her complain about the pain of her wounded side and scolding him for being an inconsiderate idiot for hugging her wounded sister. All of us laughed at the scene. This case was finally over.

We were packing everything and getting ready to leave, Rei and I were the only ones to sit back and wait. Rei was pretty bad wounded, but she was as cheerful as always. I…well my bad luck struck me as always and I ended up with disjointed shoulder that was really painful to fix, it didn't hurt so much now, but it was quite hard to move. Fortunately no one else had been hurt during the exorcism.

Fudo-san was really happy to know that the nightmare she'd been through was finally was over. She even forgave us for destroying part of the manor, and kindly invited us to visit her in a close future. Thing they wouldn't happen too soon…for the looks on everyone's face they were anxious to get out from there.

It was sad, but after this dangerous adventure, it was time to say good bye to my dear friends in SPR. We had to return to the college and report to our professor about the case. Bou-san made fuzz about having to lose his beloved wife-to-be once again, causing him to gain a hard hit from Ayako. She gave me a tender hug and told me to take care of the shoulder and that she was going to call me more frequently. John, Masako and Lin-san said their farewells as well. Yasuhara was traveling back to college with us, so there was no need to dismiss him, and the only left to say good bye were Naru and his parents.

"It was such a pleasure to work with you. You're an impressive team…" Martin said shaking everyone hands.

" the pleasure was ours…" Kei said " We look forward to work with all of you again. Shibuya-san…no…Davis-san…"

"Leave it as Shibuya" Naru replied coldly "I appreciated your support. May be we'll work with you all in a near future…"

"that'll make you happy, right Mai?" Aki whispered to my ear with a mocking voice.

My face turned red as I glared at Aki. I'd make her pay later.

"Mai…"

"Eh?" I replied looking at Naru. He had a light smirk on his lips.

"See you soon…"

He turned around and boarded the black van. I stared puzzled as the cars began to disappear in the distance.

After all those years, that egotistical jerk couldn't at least give me a proper good-bye? That idiot… See you soon….what was that suppose to mean?

**File #1: Those who curse the tree**

**CLOSED**

**All right this room doesn't exist in the game. I made it up for the story purposes. if you were wondering, the ghost (supposedly Kureha) kidnapped the restoration workers and then put them on the cocoons. Inside them they would get digested and turned into food for the mulberry tree, once they were eaten the remaining would be left on the manor, and that's how people found the bodies in the state they had mentioned in the first chapters. I'm explaining this because it might not have been clear in the story.**

**This is the boss that appears in the shrine during Ying Phase, it doesn't appear underground but most likely in front of the shrine. For a better description of it, here's the link with the artwork of the ghost: ****/asset/171905/12/11039547 **

**Sorry if I didn't make the scene of Rei's exorcism more detailed. I just thought there wasn't much to describe, so the details are left for all of your cute imagination. All right…like I said before there's a little epilogue for this case, I'll see if I can upload it today.**

**Have a nice day and thanks for going through this case with me. There will be more cases, don't worry, but I just wanted to thank everyone who had followed til now. ARigatou mina-san**


	12. Chapter 12: EPILOGUE

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**EPILOGUEEEEEEEEEEE YEEEEEEEEEEEEEY**

**Anyway…Read and Review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #1: Those who curse the tree: EPILOGUE**

It's been a week since the case in that awful manor. My arm was much likely recovered and Rei was a lot better. We all had returned to our usual chores in school: classes, homework (which I apparently forgot to do) and studies… It'd be summer soon, and I was anxious. What I really needed was good rest.

Ayako called me almost every day, the same with Bou-san. They almost seemed to have some kind of contest between them. John kept visiting me and Yasuhara and I still ate lunch every Friday. Masako called me too…though it was quite rare to get her to call me. Naru and Lin-san had vanished once more.

There had been something that had been budging me since we'd returned. What was the deal Naru was talking about when he had been discussing with Lin-san? And what the hell did his 'See you soon…' meant? That stupid Tanuki Naru…always giving me this awful headaches.

"Taniyama…!"

Yes…if I was to give him an animal, he definitely suits with the tanuki: cute but dangerous.

"Taniyama!"

I wondered if they had gone back to England…

"TANIYAMA-SAN!"

I gave a jump. I was in the middle of my Mythology class. The rest of the students in the class began to laugh stupidly. Even Hikaru, who was sitting next to me was laughing softly.

"Hai, professor…? " I said a little blushed.

" Stop day dreaming and begin paying attention, Taniyama. If you don't you won't learn anything…"

"Y-yes!"

"I've been calling you for around 5 minutes already. Professor Ashitaka wants to see you and Momoka in his office"

"Yess…let's go, Hikaru…"

I helped Hikaru to pick up her stuff and we left the classroom with a rushed pace. Ashitaka was calling us to his office which could only mean one thing…another nasty case. As we arrived to the teacher office, I spoted Aki and Kei walking to us.

" You got called to, heh?" Kei smiled.

"Yep…Mai actually had a pretty embarrassing moment back in the class."

"Oh…yeah, I was…thinking…" I replied annoyed.

"About what?" Aki asked

"Nothing…in particular…"

" She was thinking about Shibuya-san…" said Hikaru with a little laugh.

" No…Wait…were you spying my thoughts Hikaru? That was low!" I said annoyed as the rest laughed " Where's Rei?"

"She needed more rest, so I told her to stay in bed. I'll tell her anything important…" Kei replied.

"All right…" I said cheerfully " better to face it sooner than later!"

With those words I walked to the door and opened it with a swing. My eyes went wide, and my mouth dropped. In front of me, a boy with black hair and cobalt eyes was sitting in the couch. His parents were sitting in front of Ashitaka's table and both of them smiled at me as I entered.

"What the…?" I let out.

"Ah…Taniyama, Momoka, Abe and Sasaki; you finally arrived…" Ashitaka said cheerfully " I assume that you've already met the Davises…"

"Oh yeah…" Kei said smiling " Nice to see you all again…"

"It's our pleasure…"

"So…what brings you here? Another case, perhaps?" asked Aki.

"No…not exactly…" smiled Luella.

" You see…Our son wanted to open a branch of SPR here in Japan. He says that there a lot of interesting cases here, we came to Japan with him to see if he was right and also if he was the right person to assume charge in here…" Martin explained " We came here as observers during the last case. Noll made us swear that we wouldn't interefere…he's such a stubborn kid…"

'Oh…yes he is….' I thought.

"That's cool…but why are you telling us this?" Kei sai frowning,

"Well…we were impressed with your work; and the new branch will be needing a lot of psychics as support…"Luella replied.

Was she saying what I think she's saying? Don't tell me…

"From today on…Gakuda Paranormal Society will be associated to SPR, Japanese branch " Ashitaka said with a smile "Let's say that you're permanently hired as SPR members for now…"

"WHAT?" we all said stunned.

Martin and Luella looked at each other with a playful smile. Naru then stood up and walked at us.

" I expect you all to work efficiently…" he said coolly " and I also expect you all to be in time…" he added specifically for me.

"Ah…that's right. Taniyama…"

"Yes?"

"Oliver has asked me to assign one of you as his particular assistant since, apparently; the one he used to have couldn't be contacted. Since you've missed ten of my home works…you'll work for Oliver to repay for those missed points…"

WHAT?...

"From today on…you'll work as his assistant…"

NO WAY…

"I expect you to be responsible and give the face for the rest us …"

SOMEBODY…WAKE ME UP…

"I don't want to hear complains about your indulgence…"

THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE

"Understood?"

"Eh?"I said as my mouth dropped open.

Naru walked to my side and before leaving the room he looked at me.

"You better close your mouth, it's making you look like an idiot… Taniyama-san…" he said with an evil smirk before he left the office.

I heard my friend chuckle at my back as my face turned red in Fury…

STUPID NARCISSISTIC EGOTISTICAL JERK!

**That's the epilogue…I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Next chapter would be a new File. I'd have liked to give you a preview, but I haven't started it yet…:( . **


	13. Chapter 13

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Yey new case. This case won't be as dark as the last one. But I hope you'll like it anyway. R&R**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity #1**

_It was a funny feeling. I felt so light headed and somehow empty. Where was I? I looked around puzzled. It was snowing…snowing? It was supposed to be summer, wasn't it? Why was it snowing then? No…it's not snow….those are…lights?_

_That's it…it's a dream; but…it was different. Usually, my dreams would be filled with specific feelings, but right now…the only feeling I could feel was the one emptiness. I looked around…I saw a faint image beyond the mist, and it was getting closer. Soon I was able to see him clearer: raven colored hair, cobalt blue eyes, black clothes and impressively pale skin._

"_Gene…." I said surprised. I rarely met him unless I was in a case, then why was he there?_

_Gene stopped in front of me and smiled. _

"_Nice to see you, Mai…"he said gently._

"_Gene…where are we?"_

"_Can't you see? Look around…"_

_I looked around, the mist was slowly vanishing until it was completely gone. We were now standing in the middle of a road in a town. I saw paper lanterns hanging at the border of the streets, flowers and many small stands. I knew this…it was a festival, it somehow felt familiar…it's been a while since I went to one, though…why was I there in my dreams? Couldn't be….no, this wasn't a date with Gene, was it?_

_My face suddenly felt hot, and I knew I was blushing, I had to shake my head to clear myself and we I looked back at Gene, he was smiling again. That smile was so pretty! Why couldn't Naru smile like that too?_

"_What's this Gene? Why are we here in a festival and where's everyone?"_

"_You'll know soon…" he said with._

"_Heh? What do you mean?"_

_Gene just smiled at me and I suddenly felt my body being pulled away. I saw Gene getting farther and farther….and then…_

"Mai"

I was sitting in my desk with my head resting on my hand. In front of me, there was something black. Curses… I raised my face and found Naru staring at me with and eye brow lifted and his arms crossed on his chest.

"I'm not paying you to sleep, or do you want me to tell Ashitaka-san about this?"

"Ahhh….Sorry, sorry Naru!" I groaned jumping out of my chair " Tea, right? I'll have it done right away! Just wait a second…"

Ignoring Naru's glare I ran into the kitchen. That's right, a month ago, I had returned to my former job in SPR. Professor Ashitaka, my tutor teacher, had made me come to work for the Society of Paranormal Research Japanese branch (aka Shibuya Psychic Research) as an assistant. My boss, Oliver Davis, who was going by the name of Shibuya Kazuya, and who I preferred to call Naru, was an annoying narcissistic workaholic man. His other assistant, Lin-san, was a Chinese onmyoji, silent but kind hearted. Yasuhara –san was our research assistante, and then there were some psychics who worked with us: Takigawa Hoshou, a former monk who I lovely called Bou-san, Matsuzaki Ayako, a doctor and all conventional miko who used the power of trees; John Brown, an Australian catholic priest with a warm heart; Hara Masako, our medium; Abe no Kei and Abe no Rei, both onmyoujis and descendants of the famous Abe no Seimei; Sasaki Aki, a demon slayer from the Sasaki house and finally Momoka Hikaru, our blind medium: itako. They all were like my family….it was funny, how much had my "family" grown…I'd gone from having absolutely no one to be surrounded by all these people who cared about me, even that spoiled Naru. I really was lucky.

"Mai-chann!" someone called at me as I heard the bell of the door tinkled. Bou-san and John have entered with cheerful looks.

"Hello everyone " I greeted them with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come see my cute little one?" Bou-san asked pulling me into a strong hug.

I struggled trying to get away, but his grip was too hard to break. John stood aside with a small smile on his lips.

" Oh…let go of me you old perverted! You're strangling me…!" I mumbled from his chest.

"Oh, come on Mai…how has it been since I hugged you like this for the last time?"

"You were here yesterday…! " I cried out " Now let go of meeee!"

Suddenly the sound of a book being closed interrupted us. Naru who had been sitting in the couch was now glaring at us.

"Like I said…this place is not a play ground. If you're here to waste your time…then I ask you to leave…" he said coldly,

Bou-san let go of me and headed to sit on the couch followed by John. I rushed to the kitchen before Bou-san changed his mind and tried to catch me on a hug again. Naru was getting moody, and probably because of the lack of tea.

I poured the tea in the cups and walked out. I left a tea cup next to Lin-san who was, as usual, typingon the computer. I wondered what he is always typing. I put the rest of the cups in front of the three men on the couches, just like the old times. Bou-san was asking Naru if it hadn't received any case requests, of course we had, but as usual, Naru had declined all of them. At this rate, we wouldn't be doing anything any time soon.

Suddenly the door's bell sounded again and I rushed to the entrance with a welcoming smile.

"Shibuya Psychic Research, welcome…how may I…?" I stopped on my tracks. Standing in front of me was Kei. He smiled apologetically at me and bowed. I was surprised, since we'd just began summer break, both of them had gone back to their hometown. "Kei…what are you doing here? Didn't you say that you were going home with Rei?"

"Hello, Mai. Yes, I came to Tokyo a couple hours ago. I'm sorry…I know I should have called, but…is Shibuya-san available, by any chance?"

"Eh? Sure….He is in the living, come in…" I said signaling him to follow me. " Naru… Kei is here and he wants to talk to you…" I announced.

Kei greeted everyone politely as I went into the kitchen to brew him a cup of tea. When I returned to the living I was surprised to see Lin-san sitting there with his laptop. I gave Kei his tea and he thanked me with a smile. I went to sit next to John.

"Kei-san, it's good to see you. How's Rei-san?" asked John smiling.

"She's better…her movements are still restricted, and that's driving her nuts, but she's better. MY mother is helping her with that…"

"Oh, that's good…"

"Kei-san, why did you come?" Naru interrupted.

"Well…you see…I was wondering if you might be willing to help us "

"What do you mean, Kei-san?" asked Naru.

Kei took a deep breath before answering.

"My sister and I are from Kyoto. Our house is in a village in the outskirts of Mt. Kifune. Our town has a traditional festival to celebrate the beginning of summer: Higurashi No Natsu Matsuri" he explained "Recently some odds incidents have happened during the festival preparations. The decorations have gone missing, the workers being push off as they're fixing them, and some apparitions during the night. Nothing serious…until one of the worker went missing and was later found dead in the lake, on his chest there were some words carved: _Stop it"_

"What?" everyone except for Naru and Lin-san said.

"Uhm….the festival has been delayed because as much as they work on the preparation they just never end, if it's not a worker getting hurt, then it's the structure falling mysteriously apart. The mayor of the town had asked many people for help, but every monk and researcher who has come has left on an ambulance. They came to ask our family for help…"

"Well…you're from a family of exorcists….can't you handle it?"

"We said we came from a family of onmyouji, but you know…not all onmyouji are exorcists. Most of us specialize in fortune telling and counter curses " he explained " very few are truly exorcists, only those with strong will can do it…"

I saw Lin-san nodding at Naru.

"The exorcists from our family are out attending other cases, if the mayor had come earlier we might have send someone, but currently, the only left in our house are the fortune tellers and the exorcist trainees. Actually, the only qualified for this case would be my sister and I; but like I said before….exorcisms are not my strength and Rei isn't fully recovered…

"So you're asking us to assist in this case…?" Naru said.

"Yes…our house is big, so we will provided the base and the rooms for you to sleep. I know you don't take cases as favors, Shibuya-san, but I'm concerned about my sister's health…"

"I see…" Naru replied " Very well, we'll arrive in a couple days. We need to send the equipment beforehand."

" I understand…we'll take care of that. In the name of the Abe House, I thank you all…" Kei said bowing politely.

"Oi, oi…we're mates…there's no reason to be so formal "laughed Bou-san "You don't worry, Kei-san,"

Kei smiled slightly.

"Besides…I'm curious…I'd like to meet your family. " Bou-san said "The famous Abe no Seimei's lineage…"

"Oh…well, we're not too different from any particular family " Kei laughed "but I guess you'll have to figure it out yourselves. Thanks again… I need to go back and tell my family about it. See you all in two days…"

Kei bowed good bye again and I walked with him to the door. In fact, I was excited to meet Kei's family, too. I've heard a lot about them in Gakuda Paranormal Society, but I'd never had chance to meet them. I'd heard that they were pretty powerful and had certain political powers as well. Anyway… I'd find out sooner or later….

**All right….this is FILE 2 chapter 1. I hope you fin it interesting and don't forget to review :3**

**Tomorrow I begin classes so…I might not be able to update too often, I'll try to though.**

**Thank you everyone! 333**


	14. Chapter 14

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**This chapter is pretty long, but there's not much action…it's mostly informative I think. I was originally planning to post this chapter yesterday. I took advantage of my last they of vacations to write as crazy…this first week is still a little light, so I might update sooner. Anyway R&R**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity #2**

Two days later, we traveled to Kyoto in train. It was nice to travel together again. This time we were joined by Aki and Hikaru, and we all were happily chatting. Naru was, as usual, reading his mysterious black notebook and Lin-san was checking some files. Masako would arrive to Kyoto some days later since she still had some issues to attend.

We were laughing at Yasuhara's jokes about Bou-san who seemed pretty much uncomfortable. The view was becoming more and more rural as the hour passed. Apparently, the twins lived out of the city.

"I didn't know that Kei and Rei lived so far from the city…" I said watching the rice fields through the window.

"Well they live close to the Seimei shrine, so it's only natural. " answered Aki.

"Have you been there?" I asked curious.

"Yes…a couple of times, our families are old acquaintances.

"Oh! We could go see…."I said.

"Mai…this isn't a pleasure trip…" Naru interrupted, as usual, he was only interested in work.

I'd only been to Kyoto once, very long ago when both my parents were still alive. I didn't hold many memories about it, but I did remember being happy back then. Now, here I was…heading to Kyoto with my new family.

"May be…we could considerate staying for the festival, once the case is over "suggested Yasuhara" I wonder if Kei-san and Rei-san would mind to let us stay some days more…"

"Both of them are too gullible so I wouldn't be surprised if they did…" Aki replied carelessly.

"We could go to Seimei Shrine…I heard the charms from that shrine works greatly…" said Yasuhara.

"Oi...and why would you want that young man?" asked Bou-san suspiciously.

" Well…isn't that obvious? I want a love charm so that our relationship will prosper…" Yasuhara said with a mocking smile, making Bou-san panic.

We all laughed. After some hours we finally arrived to Kyoto. It was so hot, as expected from a summer day. We looked around searching for Kei but he was nowhere to be seen. Were we too early maybe?

"Excuse…are you Shibuya Psychic Research?" a voice asked behind us.

A man wearing a black suit was standing behind us. He was almost as tall as Lin-san, but may be a little older.

"Yes, I'm Shibuya Kazuya " Naru said stepping in front.

"I'm Wataru Ryonosuke, a servitor from the Abe house. My young masters sent me to take you to the house. If you're so kind to follow me…"

We followed Wataru-san, until we reached a black car parked in front of the train station. We were getting into the car when I noticed that Aki didn't made any move to enter.

" Aki?"

"You go first…I need to stop bye home, first. I'll see you later" she said waving at us.

We returned the gesture as the car began to move and Aki disappeared of view. The car was luxurious, I'd known the Kei and Rei's family was pretty wealthy, but I hadn't expected anything so fancy to pick us up.

I stared through the window, and saw the people from the town getting everything settled for the festival. The streets were all adorned with paper lanterns and….lanterns? My dream…

"WATCH UP!"

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the car pulled to a halt, making us all fall from our sits.

"What the hell? " cried Bou-san.

"Is everyone ok?" Wataru-san asked from the front seat.

"We're fine…" Naru replied " What happened?"

"Another of the festival decorations broke down…is the third time this week" Wataru –san replied.

"I see…would you mind if we go take a look? It might be relevant for the investigation…"

" I understand. Go ahead…"

Naru opened the door and got off followed by Lin-san. The rest of us looked each other and followed, too. A large metal structure was scattered on the street and a group of men were picking the pieces and pushing the observers away; Naru and Lin-san were kneeling in front of the base of the structure, we got closed to them and my eyes went wide.

The metal tubes were completely corroded until they had finally given away and broke down. The tubes were new, it was impossible.

"Naru! What…what's this supposed to mean?" Ayako cried out.

"Mmm…it might be de ghost's doing…" Naru replied standing up "Let's go…Kei-san is awaiting us…"

"Naru…" I whispered.

Naru and Lin-san returned to the car and so did we. The rest of the trip was a little silent. Naru remained deep in thought, and he would give a poisonous a glare at anyone who dared to interrupt him.

"Wataru-san…" asked John quietly " Has this happened often?"

"Yes, it wasn't that often first…but recently, as the festival's date approaches, it has become daily. At this rate…the festival might be canceled…"

"Well…if that's the case…it wouldn't do much harm, would it?" said Ayako.

"No, but what if the incident persists though…" said Bou-san " If that's the case, the festival would be cancelled in vain…"

Everyone stared at each other.

"It must be an earth spirit! That's for sure…" Ayako said pretty convinced.

"You've said that since our first case and you've never go it right, you old hag…"

"What did you say stupid monk?"

"Shut up you two…" Naru said annoyed " If you're going to open your mouths to make noise, then you better don't open it at all…"

Ayako opened her mouth to complain, but I pulled her arm and shook my head. Naru hadn't had his tea in the whole day, and probably he hadn't slept much either. He was definitely in bad mood and provoking him in these conditions wasn't the smartest decision.

After a little while we finally made it to the Abe House. Everyone was stunned; I believe even Naru and Lin-san were a little, because Naru didn't mocked me because I had dropped my jaw. The house was enormous, more than a house it was a manor. There was large garden in the middle with a couple ponds, trees, a traditional bamboo fountain and some rocks. As any traditional japanese houses the walls were of paper screens and sliding doors. It was really a pretty place.

" I'll take you to your rooms, please follow me…"

We followed the girl through the many corridors. The manor was beautiful and also, it had a strange atmosphere that made me feel so in peace.

"Woah…never expected that this kids were so wealthy" said Bou-san looking around impressed.

"That's true…but we should had suspected since their family has quite a reputation" Yasuhara said.

"But neither Kei nor Rei have ever mentioned anything about it." I said thoughtful " I don't think they would forget something like this, would they?"

"May be they're afraid that if someone knows they would treat them the same?" John suggested.

"Well that's true…if I'd known I 'd had felt a little intimidated…"I admited.

We sat on the tatami quietly as the girl that had brought us here and another girl brought us tea and put it in front of us. They bowed politely and left the room. Somehow I felt a little embarrassed.

Ayako and Bou-san began with their usual bickering, while Yasuhara-san and John commented about the architecture of the house. Lin-san had began typing on his laptop and Naru was reading something. I sighed.

" Something bothering you, Mai?" Hikaru asked me quietly.

"Not really, Hikaru…I'm just surprised…"

"Kei is on his way here…" Hikaru smiled " he seems a little annoyed…hehe"

"Arah…he is?"

Before I could ask her anything the door slid open and Kei entered panting. He was wearing his Omyouji outfit and he seemed pretty pissed off, but his face seemed to cheer up and calm down when he saw us.

"Shibuya-san, everyone…welcome…" he said smiling " Sorry for not going to pick you up myself, but…my mother wouldn't let me skip training…" he sighed.

"Oh…don't worry "I replied for Naru. I knew he wouldn't reply nicely so I had to do it before he said anything rude.

Kei gave me one of his usual lovely smiles.

"Kei-san…about the rooms and the equipment…" said Naru.

"Of, course…the base has been settled in the other room; all your equipment and ours have already been accommodated; about the rooms to sleep, the men can sleep in my room and the women with Rei. We first planned to give you an individual room…but…some issues came up and well…It's all right it's spacious " he explained " The maids already know about you so you can feel free to ask for anything. Don't be shy…we all want you to be comfortable…"

Naru nodded approvingly. Kei and Rei had really put their efforts to satisfy his requirements.

"Hey, kiddo…where's your sister?" asked Bou-san.

"Uhm…she's still at the shrine…"he sighed " My mother won't let her out until noon. Don't mind about it..she'll come soon"

"What is she doing in the shrine?" asked John curiously.

"Training of course…mother won't let her out until she's finished." replied Kei lowering his shoulders.

What kind of training was she doing? As much as I knew, Rei was still in recovery. Her wounds from the Mulberry case, haven't healed completely, so I thought that she would be resting and relaxing. That was the point why Kei had asked our help, no?

"Kei-san if you don't mind…I'd like to start settling the equipment" Naru the workaholic said.

"Of course, concerning, the cameras…these are the hot spots. Most of the apparitions, accidents and all the stuff have taken place mainly in these places. " Kei said handling a list to Naru. He glanced at the list and nodded.

"I already asked the witnesses to come for interviews later…"

"I see…very well. Mai…"

"Hai?" I said.

"You, Takigawa-san, Matsuzaki-san, Yasuhara-san, Momoka-san and Brown-san will settle the cameras around town. Lin and I will set the cameras. Kei-san, I wan't to ask you some questions…"

"Sure"

"All right…" I said picking the list from Naru.

"Don't get lost…and Mai…"

"What's it Naru?"

"Make sure you bring someone with you…"

Eh? That was weird. There hadn't been any reason for him to worry about my safety.

"Oh, calm down, Naru…the ghost doesn't seem to be attracted to me…"

"Who said something about a ghost? I don't want an idiot like you, walking around alone. You might get lost…"he replied with a light smirk.

"YOU NARCISSISTIC BASTARD!"I yelled annoyed as I stepped out followed by the rest.

We split the spots to put the cameras, Bou-san and John would come with me and we would settle the cameras by the pond, the shrine and the main street, and all the closest spots;meanwhile Yasuhara-san, Ayako and Hikaru would take the central park, the mayor's building ; the library and all the spots downtown. We had never taken a case where a town was haunted, and it certainly meant that there were a lot hot spots to cover. The good side was that, since the teams had joined, we had more equipment…the bad side, with more equipment, it meant more work, and the weather wasn't helping much. It was simply too hot.

"All right…this one is done, Lin-san. Is the angle ok?" I said to the radio when I had finished fixing the camera by the pond. That was the place where they had found the dead man's body.

" It's perfect, Taniyama-san…"

I walked to Bou-san and John-san who were fanning themselves with their hands. Around us the sound of the cicadas was pretty loud.

"Okay…we still have five more spots, shall we go?" I said.

"Why does it have to be this hot?" Bou-san complained as we began walking.

"Well it _is_ summer, isn't it?"

We passed by the shrine and walked up the stairs to set the camera in there. John was helping me with tripod when a felt someone watching us. I looked around, but there was no one in around, only the trees the covered the hills.

"Mai-san?" John asked me puzzled " Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no…I just thought…nah…it's nothing, hehe…" I said rubbing the back of my head. Weird, I was almost sure I had felt someone looking at us "Should we proceed?"

"How many spots left?" asked Bou-san.

"Mmm…" I replied checking the list Naru had given me " Mmm…two more to go…"

I smiled cheerfully at Bou-san who just sighed. Apparently the hot weather was getting into his nerves. I never thought that he disliked hot weather. I'd always pictured him like a beach guy.

"I must admit…this place is really nice. It'd a pity if the festival couldn't be celebrated…" John commented.

" Yes…but, you know…I'd never heard about this festival…"I commented "I wonder what are they celebrating with it…ne, Bou-san, do you know?"

"Mmm…not really, I'm not very familiar with Kyoto…"

"I see…mmm, but they're so many flowers and those pretty lanterns…"

"May be we should ask Kei-san or Rei-san about it" John said with a grin.

"Yes…once this case is solved, I'll definitely make Naru let us stay for the festival."

"Good luck with that…but honestly I don't think Naru and Lin are going to waste time on this…" said Bou-san.

I bit my lip. We finished setting the remaining cameras and walked back to the house. The same made from earlier took us to the room we were using as base. Kei had really bothered to make us feel comfortable and he had arranged to set a long table to set the screens, and in front of them there was a sort of couch. Pretty smart, it looked a lot more comfortable than the usual office chair that Lin-san was always sitting on. Kei and Rei even counted with Naru's tea obsession, right in the corner; there was a small door that opened to a kitchenette. In the other side, there was nice table with some traditional Japanese snacks and some cushions for us to sit. Ayako, Hikaru, and Yasuhara were already sitting there and they waved at us as we entered.

"Mai, tea…" Naru ordered me. I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchenette to prepare it. I had actually brought them a surprise and I was only waiting for Naru to ask for tea to give it to them.

I could hear the conversation from the kitchenette. Bou-san and the others were chatting about the sympathy in this place.

"Honestly…when this kid said he wanted us to be comfortable…he really meant it" Bou-san commented impressed.

"Yes…I must admit. These people really have manners…" said Ayako " If he wasn't that young, I might have considered him as a boyfriend…"

"Oh, no…don't put such a curse on the poor guy" Bou-san mocked earning him a hard slap on his head.

"Kei-san and Rei-san are being really gentle with us, and they really didn't have to…" John commented as he looked around "Setting all the equipment, bringing furniture…even giving us a room with its own kitchen. They really didn't have to…"

"Of course we have to…" Kei said entering to the room. He had changed his clothes and his hair was wet. He must have gotten out from the shower "you're our guests after all. Besides…what kind of friends would we be if we didn't give you a preferential treatment, especially when you're making us a great favor…"

I returned to the room and delivered a cup to each of the people in the room. Naru took his and was about to bring it to his lips, when I saw his eyes went wide in confusion. I had to cover my mouth to not laugh as I saw everyone with the same expression; even Lin-san was now staring at his cup.

"Oi…Mai…what's this supposed to mean?" Bou-san said puzzled pointing at his cup.

I giggled a little before answering.

"Well…these are my come back present to SPR…" I replied.

"Are these…customized cups?" Ayako asked looking at hers. Her cup had her name carved on a side and at the other there was a chibi drawing of her holding a bonsai.

"Yes… The pictures were drawn by Hikaru. She's quite an artist isn't she?"

"I just followed the spiritual image I saw in all of you, but the accessories were Mai's idea…"

"Well of course…Who knows you all better, than me?"

"Oh…and what do they mean?" asked John curiously.

"Ehem…" I said smiling pridely " Ayako's has a little tree because she's a tree miko; Bou-san is a rock star because of his band; Yasuhara is wearing a old fashioned kimono because he's always lying about his age; John's have a cute little puppy because he's so sweet and caring; Lin-san is holding a panda, for obvious reasons and Naru's…He has a Tanuki, because that's what he is!" I said pointing at him acussingly.

My friends stared at me stunned and then broke into a loud laugh. Even Lin-san let out a soft chuckle.

"Welcome to the club…" Kei laughed " Mai gave us cups like that in our third case, too…we still have them…haha"

"I wonder what's in Masako's" said Ayako laughing.

"A cat…because she's always so haughty" I replied.

"Oh, my cute little Mai…"Yasuhara said hugging me " Always so caring…makes me feel soooo proud…"

"Ahhh…let go, Yasuhara!" I cried.

"Hey young man, take your hands off my little wife-to-be!" Bou-san said faking a stern voice.

"Oh…don't worry, Takigawa-san…you'll receive your piece of love, later tonight…"

Bou-san's head turned red and he got significantly away from Yasuhara who simply smiled.

"Are you done with your games? We still have work to do" Naru said annoyed.

"Yo…Naru, aren't you happy with Mai's little present?"

"Ridicoulous…" he said coldly and I stuck my tongue at him "Kei-san…about the interviews…"

"Hai…they're already here…"said Kei " I'll let them in if you won't…"

"Let them come…"

Kei nodded and he left the room. After that little chance of joy, it was time to get back to work.

**All right! This was the second chapter of this case. The longest chapter written til now. I'm planning to make the chibis from the cups one of this days….Whenever I get the chance I'll post a link to them.**

**I hope that chapter wasn't boring. Please leave a review and thanks again for reading.**

**Stay tuned…SAYONARA**


	15. Chapter 15

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Yeeey another chapter…. :3. I hope you like it. Please leave a review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity #3**

"What was your name again?" asked Naru.

A girl with long wavy auburn hair was sitting quietly with crutches and a leg cast. She seemed pretty nervous about being interrogated by Naru, of course…who wouldn't? His gaze could pierce even the strongest armor.

"Watanabe Minami…" she replied shyly.

I left a cup of tea in front of her and smiled at her warmly. She returned the smile shyly. She was the last victim to be interviewed, just like her the other victims have been injured, too. We' d spent the afternoon interviewing all the victims, which were many. Yasuhara had been sent out to gather information about the man found dead in the lake. The rest of us stayed for the interviews.

"Tell us your story…"

"Well….you see, it happened a week ago. My boyfriend and I went to the shrine by the pond. We are about to get married, so we wanted to get a charm for our marriage to be prosperous…"

"Oh…congratulations!" I smiled at her.

"Thank you…" she said smiling " Well…when we were leaving the shrine I had this weird feeling... as if someone was watching me; but there was nobody there beside my boyfriend and me. "

Someone watching her? That was the exact same feeling I'd had back then. I wasn't imagining it then…

"Anyway…when we were walking down the stairs, I felt someone pushing me and I fell and broke my leg like this. I had to delay my wedding…and we wanted to get married during the festival…"

"I'm sorry…" I smiled apologetically at her. IT must have been horrible to have to delay her wedding.

" Watanabe-san…" Naru interrupted " Only you got hurt?"

"Yes…only me "

"I see. Very well…thank you Watanabe-san. You may leave…"

Kei and I helped her out of the base. I felt a little pity for her as I watched one of the maids take her out of the house. I turned and entered the base closing the door.

"This sure is strange…" Bou-san was saying " Most of the victims have been females…May be the ghost hold a preference for girls"

"That wouldn't do…" Ayako said " Two of the victims were males, and besides the one that died was a male, too…"

"But it's strange… all of the victims we interviewed today were with their partners when they were attacked" said John " And not only that…. All of them were going to be married…"

"They all had to postpone their weddings….nee, Kei, why would they all want to be married during the festival?" I asked curiously.

"Well…The Higurashi no Natsu festival besides celebrating the beginning of summer is mainly intended for couples. During this date, it's told that the _Musubi-no-Kami (1)_, would visit the town and give their special blessing to the new weds and the couples. It's also said that the god might help the single girls to find their perfect mate…It's quite an odd myth…yes…"

"That's cute…" I smiled.

"Well, Mai…may be you could go and pray to find yourself a nice, cute and rich boyfriend, right?" Ayako smiled.

"As if…" I said waving my hand in front of me.

"We're here to work, not to waste our time in this kind of activities…"

"Haha…Shibuya-san might be right, but once the case is over I'll take you to pray for certain person, Mai…" Kei said winking at me. My face turned red as I glared at him,

" Since this hauntings began to happen until now, I can presume that the spirit who causes this incidents might had died not long ago. Momoka-san do you feel anything?"

"Mmm…There is a presence…, but she keeps avoiding me. May be with Hara-san's help…I can't persuade the spirit to talk…"

Naru nodded.

"Since Yasuhara-san hasn't returned, and we already finished with the equipment, we can call it a day. There's nothing else to be done until Hara-san arrives tomorrow."

"Great…finally a break" " Bou-san sighed.

"Now that I think about it…" John commented "Kei-san, didn't you say that Rei-san would be coming to meet us? It's been a while…and she hasn't come yet…"

"Oh…well. She probably messed up and my mother made her do it all over again…" Kei smiled rubbing the back of his head.

"Geez…your mother sounds scary. Just what kind of training is she getting?" Bou-san said eating a cookie from the tea table.

"Earlier she we were training in the shrine together, but right now I think she must be in her ying training…"

"Ying training?"

"Yes, she's trying to teach her how to be a bride"

"WHAT?" everyone said with wide eyes. Naru shook his head annoyed and Lin-san raised his look from his computer.

"We are the heirs of the Abe Clan lineage. Most likely, we are the leaders of the clan. In fact we are the first leader to be twins. Quite unexpected…right?" Kei laughed " The last leader, was my uncle, but he passed away a year ago…"

"If that's the case, shouldn't your cousins be the heirs?" Ayako asked frowning.

"If we were a normal family, yeah, but in the Abe Clan the heirs are chosen by the 12 Shinshou. They're powerful shikigami so they won't obey just anyone, but the one who truly owns the power of their first master."

"But if they were bribe, wouldn't they chose the wrong heir?" asked John.

"Not really. You don't know the 12 Shinshou, they have an awful temper. If they were to be tamed by another person beside their master, they would most likely devour him or her "

I saw all my friend gasp in horror.

"They will only acknowledge one heir. We're the exception of course…since apparently we can be count as one. Anyway…we perfectly fulfill the ying and yang"

"What do you mean about that?" I asked.

"Ying is most likely the representation of the darkness and sensitivity, and it's linked to females. Yang represents the light and strength, it's linked to males" Lin-san explained.

"I could not have explained better, Lin-san!" Kei said clapping " but beside the gender, our personalities are pretty much the opposite. Rei is stronger and vigorous, more like Yang and I'm more calm and reflexive like Ying. Since we both seem to be lopsided, my mother put us on training to improve our lacking sides"

"What does that have to do with training your sister as a bride?"

"Well…an important part as leaders of the clan, is to get married and establish a family."

"Aren't you awfully young?" Ayako said.

"May be…mother doesn't bother me that much, since I'm a male; but, Rei's a girl. Traditionally, in order to keep the purity of the family, the leader if female must marry an onmyoji. That's not much troube since most onmyoji are male…in my case I can wed whoever I want as long as she has spiritual power, because a female onmyoji is too rare. Anyway…my mother wants Rei to get a fiancé soon, since my mother is Chinese, she has quite a picture of a perfect bride…" he laughed.

"Heh? Perfect bride?" I said before looking at Lin-san quizzically asking for explanation.

" For most Chinese, a good bride should be able to cook, embroider , play musical instrument and other things…" Lin-san explained me " It's quite an antique philosophy though…"

"Well my mother still believes it."

"And why would she need training on that? She could assist to classes no?" John asked puzzled " Rei-san looks like someone who would be very capable to master such simple things"

Kei looked at me and Hikaru with a raised eyebrow, and then I understood. We all burst into laughter, leaving John speechless and puzzled.

"Yeah right…hahaha…that's so funny" I laughed " Rei cooking…oh god help us…haha"

"Is she a bad cook?" Ayako asked.

"Not really, her meals can be really tasty…" Hikaru replied " But…"

"…She can't cook without blowing up the whole kitchen…" Kei said "That girl is death clumsy…"

"Is she? By the way she performs her exorcism I can't believe that…" Bou-san said thoughtful.

"You better do. Rei may be the best onmyoji in this time, but hell, as a normal girl…she's beyond pathetic… hahaha"

"Patheitic your ass!" an angry voice broke into the room,

Rei was standing by the door with her arms crossed over her chest and an annoyed hint on her face. She was wearing a light purple kimono and her black mid-length hair fell over her shoulder beautifully.

"Rei-san…."John said surprised.

Rei crossed the room with wide strides and pulled her brother by his earlob.

"Who's pathetic, heh? You silly idot of a brother…!"

"Augh…let me go! Augh…."

"I'm not letting you!"

I smiled as I saw them bickering, Those twins, they would always fight on to each other's nerves, but make up later, and become awfully caring to each other in the next minute. Well…maybe it had to do with their twin bond, or something…

I glanced at Naru. He kept reading his notebook and ignoring what ever happened in the room. I wondered if Naru and Gene were like that, too…

"Agggg….all right, all right, sorry for calling you pathetic…" Kei moaned.

"Hah!" Rei said letting him go " that's better…"

I smiled. My new family really was strange.

"Mai…"

"Yes, Naru?"

"Tea…"

I rolled my eyes and made my way into the kitchenette again.

"_Where am I?" _

_I looked around me. _

" _A shrine?"_

_Yes, it was a shrine. I was standing at the Torii gate. The night was clear and full of stars, there was full moon, so the place was pretty nice lit. There was a big tree in front of me, and under it a shadowy figured __paced back and forth__, as if he was waiting for someone. It was a boy with dark brown hair and pale white skin._

_I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to find Gene smiling at me. _

"_Gene! What are we doing here?"_

"_Look…" he said pointing at the shadow. _

_I suddenly heard steps behind us. I turned just in time to see a girl running her way up the stairs. She stopped on her heels panting and looking around. Her gaze stopped at the pacing shadow without noticing my presence; she smiled and began fixing her hair. She was quite pretty. Her hair was deep black straight and she was wearing a colorful yukata with goldfishes. The girl took a deep breath and ran to the person under the tree._

_The two stared at each other for a while, and then hugged lovingly. I understood…that person was probably that girl's boyfriend. They were doing something at the tree, Since I was too far I couldn't see what…_

"_Gene….Why are we seeing this?" I asked._

"_They're memories…" he replied quietly " This places keeps the dreams and the hopes of a lot of people, unfortunately…not all those feelings come true…"_

"_What do you mean?"_

_Before Gene could answer me, our surroundings switched. We were now downtown, standing in the street. Our surroundings were decorated with the same lanterns, the flowers and the paper scultures of the festival. The black haired girl was walking by the edge when she stopped short. Her face lit up and a wide smile spread on her lips. She ran to the street but then stopped on her tracks. Her eyes had gone wide. In front of her, the boy with brown hair was walking with a girl with blond hair. They seemed happy; the girl said something to the boy and then kissed his cheek._

_The black haired girl, stepped back trying to hold her tears. She was now standing in the middle of the street crying. A car was coming straight at her, and the driver seemed to be searching something on his side and wasn't lookinh._

"_No…GET OUT OF THERE!" I cried out. _

_It was too late…the car hit her body and sent her flying over the street. The boy had stopped due to the crash and his eyes went wide as he saw the girl lying on the street covered in blood. HE ran to her crying and behind him, the woman with blond hair was covering her mouth in horror…_

_I felt a piercing sadness in my heart. As the scene in front of me began to fade I heard a tiny female voice whispering:_

_Stop it…Traitor…_

**This is the god of marriage in Japanese folklore.**

**All right…I think you might have an idea about the line of the case, Don't you? **

**READ AND REVIEW**

**Arigato mina! Stay tuned!**


	16. Chapter 16

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Another Chapter, I wanted to update yesterday…but got caught in college works anyway…please enjoy and leave me a little review! 3**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity #4**

"Taniyama-san…Taniyama-san…"

"Mai…wake up, Mai…"

Someone was shaking me. I opened my eyes and found myself laying on the floor of the base. Something warm and heavy was covering me. A blanket…I supposed.

The room was dark, the only light came from the screens settled in the other side of the room. I couldn't remember when had I fallen slept…the last thing I remember was hearing Naru talking to Yasuhara by the phone. I looked up and found Lin-san kneeling in front of me, Rei's head poked over his shoulder staring at me.

"Lin-san…Rei…"I said without getting up. For some reason I felt dizzy. "Where's everyone?"

"It's already pass midnight, Mai. Everyone is already soundly asleep…" Rei answered "Lin-san and I took the night shift"

"Eh….? The night shift? Since when do you do the night shift? It's usually Kei's job"

"Yes…but I missed a whole day of work, so this is my pay back…besides, Kei won't let me do the field work until I'm fully recovered, so this is the only thing I can do…"

I blinked clueless, and rubbed my eyes. They were a little sore, and I was surprised to find tears on them.

"You were crying, Taniyama-san. We heard you sob and came to check on you…" Lin-san said as he saw me looking at my wet fingers puzzled.

"Had a sad dream?" asked Rei sweetly.

"Kind of…" I felt so tired even though I had just woken up.

"Did it have to do with the case?"

"I…I think it does…" I replied.

I told them everything I'd seen in my dream: the girl with black hair, her boyfriend, the tree in the shrine, the blond girl and the accident. When I'd finished my tale, I felt the teardrops slip down my cheeks again.

"…She died totally heartbroken. She really loved her boyfriend, and he cheated on her!"

"Don't make your assumptions, Mai. Her death was indeed tragic, but sometimes things are not what they seem" Rei said " Don't you think so, Lin-san?"

Lin-san nodded his head.

"I'll tell Noll about your dream when he wakes up. You look tired, Taniyama-san, it's still early, you should get more sleep…" he said standing up "Rei-san, why don't you take her to the room?"  
"Sure, Lin-san. Come on, Mai…"

Rei helped me to stand up and my cover slipped to the floor. I realized it wasn't a blanket as I'd thought, but a jacket, a thick black jacket. It probably belonged to Lin-san, so I picked it up , folded it and walked to him.

"Lin-san…thanks for the jacket" I said offering it to him.

Lin-san looked me and shook his head.

"Wrong…it's not mine…"

"Eh?" I said surprised " I looked at the jacket thoughtful " If it isn't…then whose…?"

"It's Noll's…"

My mouth dropped open. Naru's ? Was he the one who covered me? Could that be even possible?

"Well…I'm taking Mai to my room, Lin-san. I'll get us something to eat in the way back. Don't have fun without me!"

"As if I'd dare…" Lin-san replied with a chuckle.

Rei grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room. Surprisingly, the corridor wasn't dark. It's was slightly lit by a dim blue light. Rei took my through various corridors.

"Shibuya-san does like you, Mai" Rei said with playful smile " He even bothered to tuck you with his jacket. I said I'd ask somebody to bring you a blanket….but he said, that with your luck, you'd get a cold even before the blanket had arrived. He's just playing cold…hehehe"

"Yeah right…" I sighed "If that was the case…he wouldn't have rejected me four years ago…"  
"Oh, my…I didn't know you were that resentful…" she laughed.

"Just call it being realistic…" I sighed " Don't get me wrong, Naru can be really nice sometimes. I know he has a good heart, but he's such a narcissitic egotistical jerk that his good side is hardly seen…sargh…."

"Hehe…right, right…"

"Mmm…. What about you and Lin-san?"

"Eh? What about us?"

"I think there's something between you two…"

"You're spinning the topic. We were talking about you and Shibuya-san. What does it have to do with Lin-san and I?"

"You like him…." I mocked. Before I could add anything else, Rei's hand was covering my mouth.

"Shut up, you idiot!" she cried softly " If my mother hears you…I don't even want to think what she might do!"

"Ok, ok…sorry." I said laughing " Ne…Rei…."

"Uh?"

" Do you think the girl in my dream is the ghost?"

"Uh….I really don't know. May be…may be not. Something is for sure, if you dreamt it, it has to do with the case; but let's leave the thinking to Shibuya-san…"

I nodded. Rei stopped in front of a door and slid it open. It was an enormous room with ancient Japanese style and decorations. I saw Ayako and Hikaru sleeping in their futons on the floor, there next to them, was an empty one, it was probably supposed to be mine.

"Get some sleep, Mai…" Rei said kindly.

I smiled at her and got myself into the futon as Rei closed the door and left. I stayed a couple of minute staring into nothingness before drifting in to dreamless sleep.

"There are too many spirits in here. I can't find the one who's causing these incidents. I'm sorry…" Masako said covering her mouth with her sleeve.

She had arrived some hours before I'd woken up. When I entered to the base, she was sitting gracefully in front of Naru. Kei was watching the screens, Lin-san and Rei were gone. Probably getting some rest. The others were simply sitting around and drinking tea with the cups I'd given them, even Naru was holding his tanuki cup. I smiled a little after seeing the scene.

"Is that so, Hara-san?" Naru asked quietly " I see…perhaps going to the active spots might let you indentify our ghost…"

"May be… are you going to take me, Naru?" she said with a suggestive smile.

I frowned. After all those years, Masako still had a crush for Naru, well who was I to judge her?

"Mamoka-san and Takigawa-san will join you." Naru replied ignoring her as he began flipping among some papers.

Masako seemed a little disappointed, but she didn't say anything and simply walked out followed by Hikaru and Bou-san. That left Naru, Kei, Ayako and John in base with me. Yasuhara was still researching and Aki had called saying that she wouldn't make it for this case since she had to attend some family issues.

"Mai…"

"Yes, Naru? Do you want tea?"

"Not now…" he replied. Naru was rejecting a tea offer? Now…that was weird. " Lin told me you had a dream last night…could you retell it to me?"

Just as I'd done last night, I told Naru all the details from my dream. His face was emotionless as usual, but he seemed interested in the girl I had seen die.

"I think she may be the ghost…" I said " She seemed so sad….I feel sorry for her, though…"

"We need to figure out who she is first " Naru said putting down the papers he'd been checking " Mai…so you think you might be able to recognize her?"

"Eh…sure, if I see her I would…" I replied.

"Here…" he added pushing the bunch of paper to me " I asked Yasuhara-san to gather information about recent deaths by car accidents…"

I picked the papers and sighed. I sat in front of the tea table and began flipping between them. Some minutes later, Lin-san entered the base and took sit next Kei. I saw Naru walking to him and saying something at him. Lin-san simply nodded and began typing in his computer.

Surely this was a boring job. There were at least 50 girls who had died by getting hit by a car in the last two years. I flipped one of the sheets and my hand froze. There, in front of me, I saw the black haired girl smiling at me. I picked the paper carefully and my eyes traveled all over the lines written on it.

" Arukawa Chihiro…" I whispered. " Naru! I found her!"

Naru looked at me and picked the sheet I was drawing to him and read it carefully,

"She died last year. The exact date coincides with the opening of the Higurashi no Natsu Festival…" Naru said.

"So…she really might be our ghost…" I said.

"We need to know more about her… Lin, we need to contact Yasuhara-san…"

"Did somebody call me?"

Yasuhara entered to the base holding a yellow envelope. He smiled at all of us playfully.

"Really, boss…didn't think that from all the people, you'll be the one missing me. I feel so touched…"

"Not time for games, Yasuhara-san…" Naru replied with a cold politeness.

"Yes, yes… sorry. I brought some information about the case…" he added " want me to share?"

Yasuhara walked to my table and sat next to me. It was a good moment for tea, so I got up and got myself into the kitchen. Some minutes later, I came up with some cups of hot tea for all the presents.

"So…what did you find?" I asked.

"About the man who died…His name was Utada Mamoru. He was the Festival Organization Chief's assistant. Apparently he fell into the lake and drowned because he didn't know how to swim. If it wasn't for the carvings on his chest, it might just have been a common accident " Yasuhara said pushing up his glasses " He was 25 years old and he had recently engaged to his girlfriend. Their wedding was planned to take place during the festival's opening ceremony along with some other couples…(1)"

Yasuhara pushed a paper to Naru. It was a list of names. I felt sorry for the man, he had been so close to getting married and he'd had to die in such a sad way. I couldn't imagine the pain for his family and his fiancé…

"According to some records….this is the first time that the festival has had this kind of incidents. All the earlier celebration took place smoothly. This year, though, as soon as the citizens began preparing for the celebration, the accidents began to happen. The metal structures were corroded until it would break down, the lights would explode, the flowers died away... Also, the most part of the people who had gotten injured or involved in any of these incidents were all in that wedding list… even Watanbe-san and some of the other victims we interviewed" Yasuhara added pointing at the paper that Naru hold "If you want my opinion…this ghost really has something against marriage…"

"Well Rei and I can corroborate about the incidents. We've been in all the festivals and nothing like this happened before…" Kei say looking away from the screens.

Naru nodded and handled a paper to Yasuhara.

" Well done, Yasuhara-san….now I need you to find more information about this woman."

Yasuhara picked the paper and read it carefully, before nodding.

"Surely, boss… I'll go right away!"

"Mai…Brown-san, Matsuzaki-san….I want you to go and change the tapes from the cameras. We'll wait for Yasuhara-san's information and Hara-san's report before deciding our next step"

We nodded and headed out. The day was awfully warm outside, and as we walked to change each of the cameras' tapes, we all felt sweaty and overwhelmed. Luckily for us, the camera by the shrine was a lot fresher than the other spots, thanks to all those trees that grew on the hills.

Ayako made a comment about how happy those trees felt and John was by her side smiling and telling how nice this place felt compared to the other spots. While they were talking I took out the tape and put a new one in the camera, as I turned the camera back on, I heard something behind me.

I looked and saw a white shape rushing between the trees and up to the shrine. I began to walk up the stairs quietly and I finally reached the shrine. It was just as I had seen it in my dream, right in front of me there was a large tree with big branches and thick trunk.

I walked to it and placed my hand on its rough surface. There were many carvings on its trunk, all of them names. I looked around until I finally found what I was expecting to find: _Arukawa Chihiro/ Hirotomo Kenji_

"Hirotomo Kenji?" I read " Was it the guy who hurt you, Chihiro-san?"

It wasn't like I expected her to reply, but I'd gotten used to talk aloud. To my surprise I heard a soft cry that sounded much like a sob. I looked around and found myself completely alone.

Suddenly, I felt a hand grab mine and everything went black.

**I'm not sure if Japan does this, too, but in China, there are some dates in which many couples get married at the same time. **


	17. Chapter 17

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Yeye…two chapter in a day, just because it's Friday and I was home early.**

**Please enjoy and leave me a little review! 3**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity #5**

_The sweet smell of grass and flowers surrounded me. I opened my eyes and found myself lying on grass. The blue sky opened widely over me and the warm sunlight shone over me and making me dazzled._

_How had gotten there? The last thing I remembered was being in front of the tree of the shrine. That's right…this had to be a dream; but how could I have fallen sleep? _

_I got up and looked around. Where was Gene? He would usually appear to wake me. _

"_Ken-kun!" I female voice shouted cheerfully._

_I turned to see who was shouting and saw the black haired girl running on my direction. She was wearing a white summer dress and a white matching hat. She was smiling as she run._

"_Oh…! Chi-chan" someone replied behind me. The boy with dark brown hair came running through me to meet her. _

_I'd forgotten that this was only a dream, still having someone walking through you felt quite awkward. _

_The boy caught the Chihiro in a hug and spun with her giggling. Both seemed really happy together._

"_Oh…Ken-kun stop it! I'm sorry I was late…I had to finish work first! Haha…stop it…"_

"_I won't stop. You left me waiting for too long!" he replied giggling._

_My lips curved in a smile. They were a cute couple._

"_All right, I'll put you down" Kenji said leaving her on the ground " That was so fun…"_

"_You're terrible, Ken-kun…" _

"_So…what kept you from coming to me? I hope it wasn't another man…"_

"_Of course not! I was helping with the preparations for the festival. A lot of couples are coming to ask for the blessing of their marriages, so we really need to have everything nice for their arrival. There's a lot to clean, a lot of decorations to hang and a lot of many other things, silly…"_

"_The _Higurashi no Natsu_ festival, heh?" Kenji said sitting down " Sure it's been a while…we met for the first time during the festival three years ago, do you remember?"_

"_I wouldn't forget something so important, Ken-kun"_

_Kenji sighed and turned to Chihiro grabbing her hands. His look had suddenly become serious._

"_Ken-kun?"_

"_Chi-chan…I …I've given it a lot of thought, and there's something I'd like to give you…"_

"_Something?" she replied puzzled._

"_Close your eyes…." _

_Chihiro closed her eyes and Kenji picked her hands an pushed something on her finger. A ring..._

"_You can open your eyes…"_

_Chihiro opened her eyes, and looked her finger. Her mouth dropped open and she hugged Kenji laughing. _

'_They were getting married?' I thought, my heart suddenly became so sad. _

"_It's a promise ring " he said quietly " It's the only thing I can afford right now…but I promise I'd get you an official one! And then….we can get married during the festival, and have the god bless our marriage…"_

"_I'd like that…oh, Ken-kun! Thank you!" _

"_There's no need to thank me…I do it because I love you, Chi-chan…"_

_I saw Chihiro hugging the man, and the image began to get blurry. I was being pulled out by something and suddenly I found myself standing in a dark version of the shrine. Right under the tree I saw a white shape curled between the roots. She was hugging her knees trembling; as I got closer, I realized it was a person sobbing,_

"_Chihiro-san…" I said quietly kneeling by her side._

"_He lied to me…" she cried " He…he told me he loved me! And yet…he went with her…"_

"_With her? " She must have meant the blond girl._

"_She was prettier…and she probably had a family….uh…not like me….That's why he did it…" she sobbed. Her cries made my heart shrink in pain. This poor girl; how much had she suffered?_

"_I loved him….and I was so happy….but he lied to me. He betrayed me…please…make it stop. Make all this memories stop. Stop it! I don't want to feel more pain…"_

"_Chi…"_

"_Get away!" she shouted at me. _

_A sudden force hit me and threw me away. I gasped in pain as the hit had got me on my stomach. I raised my look and saw a dark cloud surrounding Chihiro's body. She had gotten up, her hair flying in all directions and her face expression was now one filled with hatred and anger. _

"_Chihiro-san…"I said scared._

"_STOP IT! STOP IT! I HATE THIS FESTIVAL I HATE IT ALL! STUPID COUPLES I'M GOING TO KILL THEM ALL…"_

"_Chihiro-san…no…you shouldn't do that!" I cried out._

_Chihiro turned her face to me and she pointed at me. A gust of wind hit me against the wall making an awful sound. I didn't want to die in my sleep…_

'Mai... wake up. Wake up'

_Someone was calling me... My breath became heavy as I could feel Chihiro's presence getting closer at me and then…._

"Mai… it's ok. You can open your eyes now…"

I opened my eyes I jumped up startled. I was lying in the base with everyone surrounding me with concerned looks. Hikaru was sitting by my side, and she gave me a soft smile. She'd been the one who had called me.

"Ugh…what…what happened?" I asked puzzled.

"You walked away on your own. You scared the hell out of us "Ayako scolded me.

"When we found you…. You were in some kind of trance…" John added " We couldn't wake you…"

"I was…in trance?" I asked puzzle.

"You were touched by a ghost…and it dragged your soul with it" HIkaru explained " It's similar to an out body experience, but instead of going to an actual physical place you're taken to a spiritual space…"

"Ough….why does this always happen to me?" I moaned.

"Mai…"

I turned my head to see Naru sitting by my side. He stared at me with his piercing blue eyes making me blush a little.

"What did you see…?"

I sighed, of course, Naru wouldn't bother to ask if I was ok; he only wanted to know what information I could give him.

" The ghost is Chihiro-san…" I said " Her boyfriend promised to marry her during the festival, but she saw him with another girl and got upset. She died feeling betrayed, so now she hates the festival and hates to see those couples happy, that's why she'd been hurting them "

"Geez…like I said before, women's rage really is scary" Kei said with a shudder as Bou-san agreed with him and John smiled shyly.

"Let's see what Yasuhara-san found…" Naru said.

I hadn't noticed Yasuhara sitting by the door with another bunch of papers. HE smiled at me and coughed.

"Well…like Mai said…she was about to get married to Hirotomo Kenji when she got hit by the car" he said " Arukawa Chihiro was an orphan, she'd been adopted by the watchman of the shrine and she grew up there, after her parents died in a fire when she was five. She then met up with Hirotomo-san, and they started to date. According to the people I talked to, they were a happy couple and both loved each other greatly, so they were truly skeptical when I asked if he had cheated on her"

"Uh…I find that hard to believe, too…" I said.

"Ara…Weren't you the one saying how despicable this guy was for doing it last night? Now you're defending him?" Rei said surprised.

"Uhm…it's just that…I saw one of the ghost memories and they…they looked so happy. Both of them…I don't really get why would he cheat on her if he really was so happy by her side."

"Mmm…that's true…" Rei admitted.

"Perhaps…perhaps it was a misunderstanding?" John asked.

"That could be a possibility…" Naru said thoughtful" either way…this ghost is dangerous, so we shoud get rid of her soon…"

"I don't think she is evil…" I said "She's just sad…but I saw something controlling her. It was a dark shadow…"

"A dark shadow?" Bou-san said.

"Darkness…." Hikaru replied "When a spirit holds too much hatred, their souls slowly becomes tainted by darkness until they finally turn into a devil"

"Uh…I've heard about that in the temple. As long the spirit holds a grudge, darker it becomes…" agreed Bou-san " so… how should we do this….? Ideas?"

"Exorcise it should be the best…" Naru replied.

"But Naru…there are too many spirits out there. If we tried to exorcise her, we might end up exorcising something else…" Masako said.

"Ayako could purify the spirits with the trees…" I suggested.

"I could….but like Masako said. The spirit we want to exorcise wouldn't come, if it's already tainted as Mai says…"

"Then…how about we cleanse it?" suggested Rei.

"If it was as easy as that, we would have done it "Masako said annoyed.

"We might not be able…but perhaps, Hirotomo-san would…"Rei said ignoring Masako's tone.

"What?" Ayako, Bou-san and John said. Even both Masako and Naru seemed interested.

"Oi…that might work" Kei said,

"If she's tied to this world due to Hirotomo-san, may be if he explains everything she'll be released" Rei said.

"But what if he has _did_ cheat on her?" said Masako.

"In that case we let her kill him and her revenge would be fulfilled…" Rei said with mocking voice. Everyone stared at her with wide eyes and she laughed " just kidding…haha, you don't need to look me like that…"

"But Rei-san may be right…" Naru said "We'll give it a try…we don't have anything to lose. We need to find Hirotomo-san."

"Don't worry…I know where he is…" Kei said.

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW MINA .**

**THANKS FOR READING AND STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.**


	18. Chapter 18

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Right! Three chapters in a row….see how much I care about my readers? **

**Please enjoy and leave me a little review! 3**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity #6**

Hirotomo Kenji turned out to be the Festival's Organization Chief. He arrived to the base visibly confused. He seemed a little older with his tie and suit, but beside that, he looked right the same as I'd seen him in my dream.

"Hirotomo-san…" Naru said.

"Oh? Yes…you must be Shibuya-san. I heard you were working with the Abe family to solve the case of the incidents…" Hirotomo-san said blinking puzzled " I hope you are able to. This festival means a lot to everyone…"

Naru stared at him coldly and I was afraid he would say something rude that might upset him.

"Hirotomo-san, we called you here because we wanted to ask you smethingo…"

"Ask…me something? What…would that be?" he asked nervously.

"It's about Arukawa Chihiro…"

"About…Chi-chan…?" his eyes suddenly narrowed and he seemed really sad.

There was an awkward pause. His head had dropped and he looked hopeless. 'Oh, Naru…I wonder if you'd ever learn to be a little more sensitive' I thought glaring at my narcissitic boss with my eyebrow raised.

Naru ignored me and kept his questioning.

" Do you remember the day she died?"

"What does it have to do with the incidents?" his voice had become a little defensive.

'Naru…that's sensitive topic, you can't just ask so bluntly! And you say I'm the idiot…honestly' I thought rolling my eyes.

"The ghost causing the incidents is Arukawa Chihiro " Naru said bluntly "She's the culprit of all the incidents…"

"W-what?" he said surprised " Chi-chan?…No, it can't be. Chi-chan loved this festival, she wouldn't do that!"

"Hirotomo-san…Chihiro-san is angry because of something she saw before her death and now she is very angry…" I said carefully.

"She's become a vengenful spirit. She's not longer the girl you knew…"

"No…Chi-chan….she wouldn't change!"

"She _did_ change, and she's hurting people…and has already killed one"

"But…but, Chi-chan…she was a sweet girl! She wouldn't even kill a bug! You must be wrong!"

"We are not wrong, Hirotomo-san…"

"But….Why? Why would she want to ruin the festival and hurt all, that people?"

" Hirotomo-san…when a spirit dies while being angered or in pain. Their sould may be corrupted…" Naru explained " The girl you know is no longer there, instead there's a potentially dangerous spirit…"

"Pain or anger?" he said confused "it was an accident…"

"Hirotomo-san…" I said shyle. The man's eyes fell on me and I had to take a deep breath before answering " Chihiro-san saw something before she got hit by that car…"

"Something…?" Hirotomo-san said without understand " What did she see?

"She…she saw you with another girl that afternoon, before she got hit by the car…. She thought…she thought you were cheating on her… She was so shocked that she didn't see the car coming and…" I replied. His eyes went wide in shock, and his fist clenched strongly.

"I would have never…"he said and suddenly his eyes snapped with realization " that girl she saw…it was probably Kana…"

"Kana?" asked Masako "Who's that?"

". We were engaged before I met Chi-chan. It was an arranged made by our parents. That afternoon…I was saying good bye to her and I asked her to return me the engagement ring my parents had given her, because I wanted to give it to Chi-chan…." He said. He rubbed his head in frustration. I saw his eyes turning red and teary. "Oh my god…all this time I thought it had been an awful accident! I killed her! I killed her without even knowing! I should…I…it's my fault…oh god…."he said bursting into tears.

I looked at the rest of the team sadly. Everyone looked upset as well. No one knew what to say to cheer him up. I doubted that anything would cheer him up right, now….

Suddenly, Rei walked to him, and carefully put a hand on his shoulder. Her face have turned soft, tender and compassionated. I knew that face, she usually put that face when I had especially disturbing dreams and for some reason, her expression would always make me feel safe and calm.

"It's ok…you don't have to blame yourself. We know you loved her…so now what you should do…is to help her go to the other side…" she whispered softly. Her voice was strangely soothing, almost as lullaby " this is your chance to let her know the truth and explain everything. She loves you…and she will understand everything…"

Hirotomo-san seemed to calm down a little as he rubbed his eyes and looked at us. I could see the pain in his expression. Now I was sure everything had been a misunderstanding, but I was afraid that Chihiro-san would be too angry to understand that.

'But she loves him…it's just as Rei said. If she really loves him she would understand what he wanted to say…' I thought.

I took some more minutes before Rei could fully comfort Hirotomo-san and he could finally stop crying.

"I'll do it. I don't want Chi-chan to suffer anymore…" he said firmly " It's the least that I can do; just tell me what I have to do"

Rei smiled from behind him and I smiled, too.

"We need to find a way to lure the spirit out first, so that Hirotomo-san can speak to her…" Naru said thoughtful.

"What about provoking her?" suggested John.

"Yes…She would come out easily if we tried that. It's worked in other cases…" added Bou-san.

"Are you and idiot?" said Ayako hitting him on his head "With all the spirits out there you'll end up provoking a mass of vengeful spirits!"

"Then suggest you something, Fake Miko" he replied angrily.

"Why you…!"

"Mmm…she might show up if there's a couple " I said making everyone look at me. " Ahh…I mean, if she tends to attack couples….right? I know. We get two of us to pretend to be a couple and lure her out. Then Hirotomo-san can talk to her!"

Naru looked for a couple of minutes before he closed his eyes and nodded.

"Mai's idea might be a good alternative…" he said.

"Woah, young lady…you had gotten smarter, haven't you?" Bou-san said petting my head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I say annoyed.

Bou-san just laughed and messed with my head.

"So…who will be the lucky ones?" Kei asked with raised eyebrow.

**So now someone will have to be a fake couple…so who shall it be, who shall it be? People you're free to suggest anything.**

**See ya!**


	19. Chapter 19

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Ok…last chapter for this case. There's still a epilogue for this case, so stay tuned.**

**Please enjoy and leave me a little review! 3**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity #7**

The new plan seemed simple: two of us would pretend to be happy couple, go to the shrine and make up some corny act to lure Chihiro-san's ghost. The rest of the team along with Hirotomo-san would remain hidden until they were needed. Once the ghost came out, Ayako and Hikaru would bind it to allow Hirotomo-san to talk to her. If we were lucky, the ghost would understand and leave peacefully; on the contrary, John and Bou-san would exorcise it.

The only thing we were missing was who would be the couple. Ayako and Hikaru wouldn't take part, since they needed to be prepared for the binding, that only left Masako, Rei and I as possible female parts. Masako refused to take part saying that she felt exhausted due the excess of ghosts… (Lier I knew she didn't want to do it, but if the male had been Naru she would jumped willingly). That only left Rei and me.

"Look at the bright side…" Kei laughed " You have a wide variety of males to chose from. It's like having a live action visual novel all for yourselves…"

"Oh, shut up, silly brother…" Rei said annoyed.

"Pick wisely…you'll be doing a kissing act, after all…" Bou-san said smirking,

"K-k-kissing? We never said anything about kissing!" I said in horror.

"But of course there would be kissing…how better way to attract the ghost if not with a kissing couple right?" Yasuhara said playfully " Don't worry, Mai…I'll be your prince. I always knew that you would be my woman since the first time I saw you in my office…!"

"Eh?" I said puzzled.

"Woa…. Hold on in there, young man. I'm not giving up that easily…" laughed Bou-san.

"Oh…Takigawa-san. Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to forget you that easily…my heart will always be open for you…"

"What? NO! I was talking about my young lady! She's going to become my wife someday, after all"

"Eh?"

"Well, seems like the girl has been chosen " Masako said mockingly as she covered her mouth with her sleeve.

"Ah..if that's the case, maybe we should let Mai-san to pick by herself right?"suggeste John.

"Wait a moment, Brown-san…don't tell me that you too want to be Mai's boy"

"What? I…I'm a priest…I wouldn't!" John replied turning lively red.

"Then why are you blushing, pal?" said Yasuhara laughing.

"I'm just saying…we should let Mai-san chose the one she feels more comfortable with…that's all…" John sighed.

Oh god….why me?, I thought defeated.

"MMmm…if there's kissing involved…" Rei said thinking " Kei is the best option, after all you two already kissed before…"

"WHAT?" everyone in the room, yelled.

There was a loud sound of splash across the room. Kei, who had just sipped his tea, had choked and spited it out; in other situations, it might have been really funny. Everyone was looking at me, even Lin-san had turned to look at us quizzically and Naru was staring at me with and unreadable expression, making me blush even more.

"What…? Wait…No! It's not like that!" I cried out waving my hands in front of me.

My face was furiously red and warm. It was true that I'd kissed Kei once, but it hadn't been on purpose. It'd happened on our first case together when I first joined the team. We went to check a house where there was a female spirit haunting the family; apparently, she was searching for her los lover, who casually looked exactly like Kei ( and Rei, for obvious reasons, but she was a female so she was spared). The ghost had possessed me and, in order to cleanse it, Kei had pretended to be her lover; but how I was supposed to know that the ghost would want to kiss him goodbye?

"Hey…young lady…you've got a lot to explain…" Bou-san said sternly.

"But…but…that…."

"Hehe….yes…I remember that _incident_, but that was completely out from our hands " Kei said rubbing the back of his head nervously " but in my defense…it was Mai who kissed me…"

"Why you…?" I shouted angrily, knowing that everyone was looking at me " It wasn't me! I was possessed. POSSESSED!"

"Mai….could it be that… that one was your first kiss, by any chance?" Ayako asked with a smile.

"Can't be counted like it! It was stolen by I ghost. I can barely remember!"

"But you _do_ remember something, no?" Masako added with a smirk.

"Oh tragedy! And I wanted to be her first kiss…I'm surely heartbroken now!" Yasuhara cried over dramatically.

"Oh! Stop it already!" I said blushing furiously.

"Oh, well…it's decided then…our _cute _ couple will be Kei-kun and Mai…" Masako said with a malicious smile.

"But…" Bou-san and Yasuhara began, but before they could start arguing over the topic, the loud sound of a book being closed interrupted them.

Naru had gotten up closing his little notebook. His face was frowning in annoyance. HE certainly was irritated. The air in the room had turned cold, and that only happened when Naru was neither angry or intimidated.

"We're not here to discuss my employees personal life…" he said with a cold glare at us " We need to exorcise a ghost, so I sugest you all to stop slacking and start working…because I'm not paying you to discuss about love affairs…"

"Oh brother…it's just me…or the boss really looks pissed?" Yasuhara muttered softly at Bou-san.

"Jealousy, perhaps?" replied the monk laughing.

Naru jealous? Yeah right as if that was even possible. He was probably annoyed with all the noice we had been doing while he was trying to read his notes and that was the reason he was so angry.

"Mai…stop slacking around and bring me my tea…" he said coldly walking to Lin-san.

"Eh…? Oh right…" I replied running to the kitchenette.

It was already dusk when we started with our plan. I was wearing a light summer dress that Rei had made me use to "look more like our ghost", she had said. I met Kei at the foot of stairs to the shrine. He was smiling apologetically at me as he offered courteously his arm.

"You don't look that bad in that dress…" he said.

"Oh…don't dare you say it! The last thing I need it's that the guys hear you saying that and start blabbing about it!"

"Hehe…relax, Mai. We both know what happened back then was just an accident, nothing serious, right?"

"Well…yeah, but try explaining that to them!"

"Hahaha….like I told you, relax. You know my mother wouldn't let me marry you…your spiritual power is too weak for the family…."

"Well thank you "I said sarcastically.

We walked up the stairs and reached the shrine. I took a deep breath as we walked to the tree and stood there for a while. It was so quiet that I felt rather uncomfortable.

"Ne…Kei…"

"What?"

"Do we really need to…?"

"That was just a joke…. There's no need for kissing" Kei smiled kindly " but we do need to act our characters, though…"

"Oh, yeah. That's right…" I said blushing. Oh this was so uncomfortable!

"You do remember your lines… don't you?"

"Sure… " I took a deep breath and began saying the lines that Rei had written for us "Kei…why did you want to meet here?"

"Well…well, Mai-chan…" he said in such a sweet way that I almost dropped my mouth open in surprise " You know…the festival is arriving soon, so…I had something very important to tell you…"

"S-something important?"

God, I was so nervous that my voice came out trembling. I hoped that wouldn't give us away with the ghost. I raised my look and saw Bou-san from over Kei's shoulder; he was hidden between some bushes with John and he was waving and winking at me. I rolled my eyes as I looked at Kei. I was so going to kill him.

"We have known each other for three years now. In all this time I've managed to realize my feelings for you…I know it's sudden but I …I really love you…"

Oh stop it Mai…this is only an act, why am I getting this blushed then? Snap of it.

"I-I –I –I l-l-love y-you, too" I said with and awful trembling voice that made Kei chuckle.

"Mai-chan….would you honor me by becoming my….?"

Kei couldn't finish his line. Suddenly, a gust of wind hit us and sent us flying into different directions. I rolled over the ground until I hit a wall making my back hurt horribly. I looked around trying to find the rest of my friends and saw Kei standing right across of me.

"STOP IT ….STOP IT…STOP IT…." I female voice cried in screams.

Chihiro-san was under the tree, standing in the same spot, Kei and I were standing some minutes before. Her hair was falling over her face and her eyes glared at us with hatred. The act had worked…she'd come to break us apart.

" I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THOSE WORDS AGAIN…! LIES LIES LIES….THET ARE ONLY LIES! " she said looking at me. Somehow this felt a little familiar.

Chihiro-san glided to me with her hands stretched when suddenly she froze in the air, almost as if the time had stopped.

"Ryn pyo to sha kai jin retsu zai sen!" Ayako voice chanted while Hikaru threw her rosary into the beads glowed intensely before separating and surrounding Chihiro-san in a shining circle. It was purifying seal. It was meant to keep angered spirits from coming out and hurting people.

"Mai, are you ok?" Bou-san said helping me to get up.

"Yeah…I think so…." I replied looking at the trapped spirit in front of me. She was trying to break free, but as she kept failing she fell to the ground crying out with such a sorrow that I felt my heart break.

Naru came walking with Hirotomo-san, who froze for a while when he saw Chihiro-san's spirt curled and crying. His face filled with sadness and sorrow as he got closer.

"Don't get to close…" Hikaru said " My rosary keeps her from reaching you, but if you trespass the limit, then it won't have effect…"

Hirotomo-san nodded and he knelt in front of the curled girl. His face refecting a deep sadness and tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Chi-chan…" he said softly " Chi-chan… I'm sorry….I'm so so so sorry…."

The girl reacted to his voice immediately and raised her head. Her hair flew away from her face while she glared at him with anger.

"You…." She muttered " Get away! You traitor…! I hate you !"

"Chi-chan…listen to me, please…"

"I don't want to listen! You're a cheater…you deceived me! Why ? Why lie to me? Why hurt me like that? " she cried out " I thought…. I thought you cared about me!"

"I did care! I still do…" he said sadly " Chi-chan…what you saw that day…it was a misunderstanding! I never cheated on you! I was saying goodbye to Kana and retrieving the ring. I wanted to give you that ring… so that we could finally get married!"

"LIER LIER LIER!" Chihiro-san cried out covering her ears.

"I'm not lying…please, believe me!"

Gusts of wind began to blow around us making the trees shake dangerously. Hirotomo-san was covering his face, and Chihiro-san was standing and screaming angrily. Bou-san had gotten in front of me protecting me from the wind and I saw everyone else fighting against the wind that threatened to drag them away.

"Damn it….we'll have to exorcise her. The cleansing doesn't seem as it will work…" Bou-san muttered.

"Wait…I know it'll work…she just need to calm down a bit first. She's upset…that's all" I said "let me talk to her…"

Bou-san looked at me thinking, but before Bou-san could stop me I ran to Hirotomo-san's side and looked at Chihiro-san. She was suffering. She didn't look as an evil spirit anymore, she just looked as a spirit who was in a deep pain.

"Chihiro-san! I know you're mad!" I screamed "I know you're mad and confused! But you must listen to your heart! You'll know that Hirotomo-san, isn't lying! He never cheated on you! He loved you…he would had never wanted to hurt you!"

The ghost began struggling for a while. She seemed to be thinking about I have just said.

"Chi-chan…please, believe me. I know I hurt you….I'm sorry. I didn't know….if I had known…." Hirotomo-san shook his head " But this isn't you. You were always such a sweet girl…"

Chihiro-san raised her face and looked us with a mix of confusion and fear. She wanted to believe us, but at the same time she was afraid that we would deceive her.

"Listen to Hirotomo-san, Chihiro-san. This isn't your place anymore…if you stay, you'll only suffer more…" I said. I could feel the wind getting weaker around us. It was working " you must leave, Chihiro-san…there's another place and there you'll be better!"

"Better?"

"Yes, better. You won't suffer anymore…and you'll be able to meet your parents again!"

I could see the spirits begin to change. It was getting brighter. The shadows that once surrounded her were beginning to fade.

"Chi-chan…I'm sorry. I really loved you, I would have never wanted to harm you…" Hirotomo-san said " Please go…and I promise I'll find you again…someday…. Don't suffer anymore…you don't deserve it…"

The wind finally stopped and I saw how Chihiro-san's spirit had fully changed. She turned back to the lovely girl I'd seen in my dream, the one with the bright smile and the gentle look in her eyes. She looked at us with her brilliant eyes and smiled as the tears fell over her ghostly cheeks.

"Ken-kun…" she muttered sweetly.

"Chi-chan…" he replied sobbing.

"I'm sorry…I've caused a lot of problems…"

"That's not important, Chi-chan…you didn't do it on purpose. What matters is that you're free now…"

"Yes… and I should leave, but…there's something I'd like to do first…" she added looking at me with pleading eyes " One last time…"

Oh bother…not again. Why was it always me? I sighed and nodded. Chihiro-san's ghost returned me the smile. The same smile I'd seen in my dreams. I stretched my hand through the barrier and she took it.

A warm feeling began to spread through my body as I slowly began feel myself pulled away and Chihiro-san's soul taking over my body.

"Ken-kun…" my voice said.

"Eh? Chi-chan?" he said looking at me puzzled.

I saw myself smiling sweetly at him.

"I was never able to tell you how grateful I was with you. You gave me a lot of thing I had never dreamt to know. Thank you…" I saw my hands taking his " I can't stay any longer…I've already done enough harm…promise me you'll be happy now. I was being selfish and silly, I should have trusted you more…"

"Don't say that…I was wrong too…"

My lips curved in a smile as my hand caressed his cheek.

"We both made our mistakes…but it's ok now. I understand…and I must move on now, and so are you. Good bye, Ken-kun…I love you"

I sighed. I knew what was coming now. I saw my body lean over him and my lips covered his. It was a goodbye kiss…it was sad, but at the same time, I knew that was the best for both of them. My soul began to be pulled back into my body, and before I completely returned to my body I heard a soft 'Thank you…' as Chihiro-san vanished surrounded by light.

"EHEM…."

I suddenly remembered what my body was doing and jumped back in panic. Naru was glaring at me while the rest of the gang were trying really hard not to laugh.

"Mai…I do not pay you to go around kissing everyone who gets in your way" he said angrily.

"It wasn't me!" I said " Chihiro-san…she wanted to say goodbye"

"Just like that time…" laughed Kei " You really are a heartbreaker, Mai…"

"I'm not…"I said blushing.

"Whatever…this case is done. Let's go back…" Naru said coldly turning around.

What the hell was wrong with him? I managed to cleanse the spirit wasn't he supposed to be happy ? I stood up and dusted off my dress, before turning to HIrotomo-san who was still sitting in the ground looking at the spot where Chihiro-san's used to be.

"Hirotomo-san…" I said shyly " About that…."

"I know…it wasn't you. It was Chi-chan…" he replied smiling " Thank you, Taniyama-san…"

I smiled at him. HE seemed calmer now, almost as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders. He remained there, kneeling in front of the tree in complete silence as I ran after my friends down the stairs, knowing that a bunch of ugly jokes and annoying comments were awaiting me in my return.

FILE#2: HAUNTED FESTIVIY

CASE CLOSED

**I have a thing with the endings. I don't know, I just feel I don't write them well. I guess I'll have to check on this later and see if there's something I can improve. Oh yeah…**

**Happen's that KyGazer thinks a lot like me, since that was the couple I had in mind XD. OH yes…NARU IS SOOO JEALOUS HAHA….**

**Thearistocrat ****there will be a small REIX LIN moment in one of the future cases don't worry.**

**OK …now moving to the epilogue. I hope you liked this chapter"**

**REVIEWS PLEASE!**


	20. Chapter 20: EPILOGUE

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**All right! Final Chapter For FILE #2! I'm so proud of myself for managing to finish to cases already…! Thanks to everyone who had stayed tune with this story, to all those who reviewed, faved and follow this story. Thank you for your support!**

**I need to apologized for the horrible mistakes in tha las chapter, I was writing it pretty late at night, and I guess I missed some things…but it's fixed now, I think.**

**The last part of this chapter, I wrote it while listening to Eternal Love by Sayuri Sugawara. If you have played or seen FFXIII there's a pretty scene with Serah and Snow with this song playing in the background. So if you want to get the feeling at the end of the chapter you could check on that scene on youtube and listen to the song while you read…I don't know, at least to me, it made me enjoy writing that part a lot more. See you in the next case!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #2: Haunting Festivity : EPILOGUE**

"Mai…hurry up, would you?" Rei called me from the door " We're running late to the festival…"

"Gash…coming, coming…"

After Chihiro-san had crossed over, the preparations for the festival had gone smoothly. After a lot of persuasion and convincing we managed to make Naru stay and assist to it. We needed to thank HIrotomo-san for that; he was the one who managed to make him stay; and so we stayed some extra days in the Abe house.

Naru had been in an awful mood the last two days. He was still mad at me, for reasons that I couldn't understand. I hadn't done anything to him, I hadn't even tried to fight him lately, but still…he seemed pretty much annoyed with me, and that kind of made me feel down.

Rei had lent me one of her many yukatas; a pink one with golden embroidered flowers. I was surprised to see that half of Rei's wardrobe was made up yukatas, kimonos and some clothes for her onmyoji trainings. The other half was common clothes; but I'd realized that she and Kei would usually wear her traditional clothing while they were in home. Their mother's request, apparently. We still hadn't met their famous mother, and to tell the truth I felt relieved. By the things I'd heard, their mother seemed like a very scary person.

"You're late…" Naru said annoyed when we finally reached the entrance of the house. I had expected him to wear a yukata, but as usual he was wearing his black clothes. I couldn't picture Naru wearing a yukata anyway.

" Well…excuse me. I'm not used to use these clothes…" I said annoyed, too.

"You look cute in that, Mai…" Bou-san said winking at me " I hope no one will try to steal you another kiss tonight…haha"

I glared at Bou-san as we began walking out to the lantern lit streets. The place looked beautiful, and there were stands with all kinds of stuff.

"Oh…I said it was Chihiro-san! I didn't kiss anyone…"

"But those were your lips, weren't they?" Yasuhara mocked " and how did it feel? Who was better Kei-kun or Hirotomo-san?"

"Oh…leave it already!" I ranted.

Everyone began to laugh.

"So what's the plan now?" asked Kei " there's a lot to see, around…"

"Mmm…I want to get something to eat first. All this smelly food are making me hungry…" Yasuhara said "Someone joins me?"

"I do…I'm starving!" Bou-san said.

"Mmm…I'm not hungry yet. I would rather go see around for a bit. There are so many cute things in those stands…" I said.

"And I'd like to visit the shrine…" Hikaru said quietly.

"I know…let's split up, that way everyone can enjoy the night on their pace. We can meet by the fountain later, and return together…" Rei suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea "John said smiling.

So, everyone went for the things they liked most. Yasuhara, Bou-san and Ayako went to get themselves something to eat; Kei, Hikaru and John left to the shrine. Kei was going to check on the fortune telling trainees and Hikaru and John wanted to see if they could get some fortune telling, themselves; that only left Lin-san, Rei, Masako, Naru and me to wander around the stands.

I felt a little awkward walking with them. Masako, to my annoyance, was clinging at Naru's arm in a flirty way, while Rei and Lin-san were chatting cheerfully. For anyone who looked at them, they looked like two couples…as for myself, I was all by myself. How unlucky for me…if Masako hadn't been there, it'd had been me and Naru, and it would have probably been almost like a date…almost… well, no really a date, but at least I could have tried to figure out what made Naru be so pissed with me.

Masako was talking about something, but it seemed like she was the only active in the conversation, since Naru seemed as apathetic as always, if not even more. I saw Rei mutter ing something into Lin-san's ear and he smiled and nodded. It was funny to see them like that, especially since Lin-san was so tall and Rei wasn't very tall. Lin-san had to lean a little and Rei needed to stand on tiptoes; so the picture was funny and kind of cute. I wondered what had she said to him, to my experience, I knew that making Lin-san smile was almost as hard as making Naru say something nice.

"Ne…Masako-chan!" Rei said running in front of her and making her and Naru stop. " There are some kids over there that are fans of you….I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind to go and talk with them for a while….."

"Eh? Well…if they're my fans….I guess…" Masako replied a little hesitant lookinh at Naru " Naru would you like to come?"

"It's you who they idealize, Hara-san, not me. I have nothing to do in there…"

"But it wouldn't be appropriate for two females to go walking around by themselves, don't you think so Naru?" she tried again. Obviously she was trying to persuade Naru to go with her…

"Of course. That's why Lin-san is willing to accompany us, right?"

"If Noll doesn't mind…"

"Do as you wish, it's none of my business…"

"That's it! Come on, Masako-chan…" she said grabbing Masako's hand and pulling her " Ne…Mai….keep an eye on him for us, okay? Don't do anything I wouldn't do… and you, Shibuya-san… Don't lose Mai from sight, or she might get lost and cause trouble…"

"Hey…what's that supposed to mean!" I said angrily.

Rei just smiled mischievously at me as she ran away pulling Masako with her. Lin-san put a hand on my shoulder and nodded before walking after them.

I sighed, and realized that I was left alone with Naru! That Rei…she'd been planning this, and the worst thing of all….Lin-san was helping her! Since when did Lin-san did that kind of things? It definitely Rei's fault…she was giving him a bad example.

I was thinking about all the ways I could call a payback on her later, that I forgot that Naru was still waiting for me to walk.

"What are you waiting for, Mai?If you don't begin walking I'm going to leave you behind, idiot" Naru's blunt voice called me.

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" I replied running to catch up with him.

We walked silently for a while. I glanced at Naru, who kept walking completely uninterested in the decorations or the many stuff that were being sold around us. He was practically pretending that I wasn't there at all; just like I thought, he was still mad at me, and I had no idea why! That narcissistic jerk….if he was mad at me, he could at least tell me why…

"Ne….Naru…" I said shyly. He didn't reply, but I knew he was listening to me " Why are you mad at me?"

Naru stopped on his tracks and sighed.

"I'm not mad at you, Mai…"

"You're not? You seem pretty angry to me"

HE didn't reply. I supposed he wouldn't bother to explain himself at all, at least not to an 'idiot' like me.

"I'm not angry, Mai…I just said it, didn't I? Idiot…" he said.

"Oh, well…excuse me for being concerned with your feelings, stupid narcissistic jerk…" I scowled.

Well…he said he wasn't angry at me. Then maybe he was just in bad mood, then. I felt a little better, knowing that.

Smiling widely I began to pace around the stands looking at everything like a child. Naru was following me, and I knew he would make a nasty remark about my childish ways any time soon.

"Hey Naru…look at this…" I said kneeling in front of a Kingyo Sukui (1) stand " Aren't these fishes cute? When I was younger…I remember my parents taking me to one of these festivals and I saw a stand just like this one. I wanted one of these fishes so badly, but I couldn't get it…then my father caught one fat and colorful for me. I was sooo happy…"

Why was I telling this to Naru? It wasn't like he would care, right?

"Well…let's see how do I do now that I'm older!" I said cheerfully. I picked one of the paper nets and tried to get one of the fish, but just when I thought I had got it…the paper from the net torn apart.

I sighed in defeat. After all those years, I still wasn't able to get a fish myself.

"Idiot…if you do it that carelessly you won't catch it before the paper gets soaked…" Naru said. To my surprise, he knelt by my side and looked at the fish " Which were you trying to get?"

"That one with the big red spot…" I replied.

Naru sighed grabbing one of the nets and catching the fish in his first attempt. I clapped amazed.

"Wow! You're good Naru!" I cheered him as he caught another five fishes.

The gentle man of the stand took the basin with fishes and poured it into a plastic bag. He smiled at me with a toothless smile as he handled the bag to me.

"There you go, young lady. You have a very skilled boyfriend…" he said and I blushed.

Naru my boyfriend? If Masako heard him she would be ranting all over me. I took the bag of fishes smiling happily as I walked with Naru.

"Thank you, Naru…" I smiled " They sure are cute. I'll get them nice cozy fishbowl and put them in the office. They're going to be SPR offical pets!"

"Do as you please…"

Well, it was my lucky day. Not only have I gotten some cute goldfishes, but I had Naru getting them for me, and he didn't say anything rude when I talked about turning them into SPR official pets.

I kept walking with him happily, and though he wasn't smiling. I felt the how the atmosphere around him had gotten lighter and his eyes seemed a lot calmer. I knew that what he actually needed was to hang out and relax from work for a while.

I laughed foolishly and grabbed his arm, just as Masako had done earlier; but instead of being flirty, I was being friendly and kindly. To my surprise, Naru didn't say anything nor did anything to make me let go of him. I was even impressed for having the guts to take his arm, four years before, I wouldn't even dream of doing it, but now….I was older and a lot braver…I think.

Suddenly, the sound of explosions flooded the sky and swirling colored lights painted the vast night sky. The people around us began to clap and laugh as they looked up at the sky. The fireworks… they were so beautiful, almost as flowers blooming in the darkness. It made me hold my breath, I glanced at Naru and found him staring at the sky. The different colors of the lights painting his pale face, and I smiled.

That night simply could not get any better; everything was so beautiful and perfect: the night, the sky, the wind blowing at us, the smell…and Naru by my side…

"Mai…"

"Eh? What's it, Naru?" I asked puzzled.

"Next time don't let the spirit make you do those idiotic things…"

"Eh?"

Naru did not look at me. His eyes still fixed on the sky, and I smiled. So that had been what was bothering him all that time…I chuckled to myself before replying.

"I won't, Naru… I won't…"

**(1) This is japanese/asian game that's usually played during temple festivals. You're given a net made with rice paper and a bowl and you need to try to catch as many fishes as you can before the paper rips off. I played it once when I was in a night festival in Taiwan. I got two cute little goldfishes! :D**


	21. Chapter 21

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Well NEW CASE YEY!**

**I've a couple of free days this week so I'll probably update sooner. Anyway… let's see if anyone figures about what is this case about. Same rules as the first….!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#1**

The day was awfully hot today, and the heat was making me sleepy. I couldn't fall sleep, if Naru caught me sleeping at work again, he would probably kill me; but I couldn't help it, it was too hot and I was too bored.

Since we returned from Kyoto, we haven't got a single case, well, wrong, we'd gotten a lot of requests; but as usual, Naru had declined all of them. I sighed with my head resting on my desk as I watched my goldfishes swimming in their fishbowl. Well at least they weren't hot…

Suddenly the door bell ringed. I got up and walked to the door to receive whoever the guest was. There in door was standing a woman in her late 30's or early 40's. She was wearing a pink light blouse, and a matching knee length skirt, and heels. Her black hair was combed in a bun held by chopsticks. Her eyes were hidden behind a glamorous pair of dark glasses.

"Eh…Good afternoon…" I said as the woman glanced around the room and smile curved on her lips " Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research. Can I help you?"

The woman did not answer she passed by my side examining the office. I was totally puzzled.

"Small…but cozy, not bad…" she said I perceived a strange accent in the way she spoke "it doesn't look like I _saw_ it, though…"

"Excuse me?"

"Mmm…"

The woman stood in front of me. She leaned at me, raising her dark glasses. Her dark violet eyes staring directly at me; her features felt a little familiar, but I couldn't tell why…

"Young lady…"

"Eh?"

"I foresee death in a close future…" she said seriously.

"WHAT?" I said with my eyes wide open and dropping my jaw. Just who was this lady?

"Hahaha…I'm just kidding.." she smiled at me " No need to panic"

I sighed. There really was something too familiar with this woman; too familiar and too odd!

"Are you here to see my boss, madam?" I said politely.

"We could say so…" she said enigmatically " Go get him for me, and while you're in that…get me a cup of green tea, please…"

The woman walked carelessly to the couches and sat there, almost as if she knew the place all her life. I raised my eye brow before knocking on both Naru's and Lin-san's office and went to the kitchen to prepare the tea.

When I came to the couches, Lin-san and Naru were both sitting with the woman. Naru seemed pretty much irritated and Lin-san seemed calmer than I expected.

"Can I help you miss…?"

"Li… Li Hanamei…"

"Li?" Lin-san said raising his head "Are you Chinese, by any chance?"

"沒有錯…我是中國人,林先生.(1)"she replied and Lin-san nodded.

So that explained the accent, if she was Chinese, her Japanese would obviously be a little weird. But I wondered what had she said…

"Li-san…may I ask you why are you here for?" Naru said bluntly. As usual, Naru was being rude " I don't believe you came all the way just to tell us that you're Chinese…"

"My, my…watch your manners…_Noll_; your brother was little more concerned of the way he dealt with people; especially with ladies…" she said.

Gene? She knew Gene. I could see Naru stiffened and stared at her stunned. His eyes quickly changed into a quizzically and suspicious look. I could easily tell that he was wondering who this woman was and how did he know about his real identity and where had she met Gene? I was thinking the same, and judging by Lin-san's face, he was, too.

"Surprised I see…just as I expected…"

"Who are you?"

"I already replied the question, didn't I?"

"No…you just said your name. Who are you and how did you know Gene?"

Before the woman could bother to reply , the doorbell rang again. I walked to the entrance and I saw Rei and Kei enter to the office. They were laughing and were carrying some market bags. They had brought us snacks.

"Oh, hey there, Mai…" Rei greeted me " We brought something to eat…."

"They're some Chinese pastries…I'm sure you'll like it and Lin-san, too. I'm no that sure about Shibuya-san though…" Keid added.

"Hi, Rei! Hi Kei…thanks, but I don't think we can eat them now. Naru is…attending a client, I think…" I replied. Was she really a client? Until know she had just walked around saying weird stuff, after all. Nothing related to a case…I could foresee Naru's rejection on the way.

"Oh…a client? Who might that be?" Kei asked.

" A strange woman. She's right there…" I replied pointing at the living with my head.

The twins glanced at the three people sitting in the living and gasped. I saw them get pale, and their eyes open wide.

"MOTHER!" they cried out.

Mother? Was that woman…their mother?

"What the hell…what are you doing here, mother?" Kei asked.

"Is that the proper way to address your mother, Kei-ar...? (2)" she said frowning.

"I…I'm sorry mother. I was surprised…"

"What are you doing in Tokyo, Mother? Weren't you supposed to receive father today?"

"I was asked to check on a property here in Tokyo, since you father is still away…" she replied "As a matter of fact, that's why I've come here now… I believe… no…I _know_ that Oliver will take this case…"

"And how are you sure about it?" Naru asked raising his eyebrow and she chuckled.

"I've got my means to know…let's just say that…a little bird told me…"

Naru did not reply. He was glaring at the woman.

"Well…you can tell your bird to stop making assumptions about what would or wouldn't I accept…"

"I can assure you, this 'bird' is rarely wrong…"

"I'll be the one who decides that. Shall you explain your case?"

"Very well…there's this property…"

"Property?"

"That's correct…." She replied. Her mocking expression was gone, now she looked a lot scarier and stern " There's a house in the outskirts of the city, and old house, but it's still in good conditions. It's currently uninhabited; but there's a family living on the grounds. They're the caretakers of the place. The house was made into a museum, but until know various incidents have made it to close down for and undetermined time …The members of the family are terrified with the events: three of them are in the hospital struggling to survive and the remaining are completely terrified. They have wanted to leave, but there's no place they can go and they can't just leave the place… "

"What kind of incidents?"

"There are some harmless phenomena like rapping sounds, flicking lights and things that move by themselves…but there's also something else…."

Naru looked at her quizzically.

" Three people have gone missing in the place. The first two were visitors of the museum when it was still open; the last one was neighbor. One of the girls was found dead; her body completely dismembered with and tied with ropes; the second girl was found alive, but her eyes had clawed out…the last one, has yet to appear…"

I covered my mouth in horror. What kind of place was that?

"The family asked for the Abe Clan's aid…so I came here to check on the place. The atmosphere is dense and filled with negative energy; since our clan is tied to helping whoever comes asking for help, we can't decline the request; so…Rei and Kei must take this case, and since you, Oliver, are their employer…the matter concerns you as well…"

Li-san looked at Naru with a serious expression.

"So you tell me, Oliver…was my little bird correct after all?" she said smiling.

Naru didn't reply. He stood up closing his note book and walked to his office.

"Mai…call the others, tell them to be here tomorrow by 8 am. " he said and I saw Li-san smirk" Li-san…please leave the information about the place with my assistant…"

Saying this Naru entered his office.

**(1)Literally translated: " Correct. I am Chinese…" I just thought it would be to weird to write the pinyin so I wrote like that.**

**(2) In Chinese ancient times, the mother would usually address her children adding the suffix 'ar' to the child's name….**

**Well this is the intro for this case, and Yes…Kei&Rei's mom is WEIRD…. Hope it catches your attention. Review if you please!**


	22. Chapter 22

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)**

**Oh well…some anonymous reviewer left me a review last chapter saying it was lame…;_;. OK…if you don't like the story it's ok…and if you're going to say at least say why…How I'm I supposed to improve if I don't know why you think it's lame….**

**BTW I promised some chibis some chapters ago. I finally finished them so you can check on them here****:**

** art/Missing-archives-321250162 **

**Anyway, next chapter…here we go.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#2**

I watched amazed the place we'd just arrived. There was a huge Japanese styled mansion, but it was different to the Fudo manor from our first case together, it had a little more western air.

When we arrived to the gates, there was a man standing there awaiting us, he was around his late 40's, but he looked a lot older and tired, almost all his hair was gray. Next to him, I saw Li-san with her glamorous clothes waving at us.

Lin-san stopped the car and we got off and walked to them. I saw Bou-san and Kei stop their cars and get down behind us.

"Hello there…I see you managed to get here without troubles…" Li-san said smiling.

"Mother…why are you still in Tokyo? " Kei said frowning.

"Father won't be happy to get home and not find you…" Rei said.

"Oh…he knows I'm here…"

The twins slapped their forehead and sighed.

"You must be, Shibuya-san…" the man said weakly " I'm Kawamura Izumi. I'm the caretaker of this museum…"

" I'm Shibuya Kazuya…" Naru said coolly "This is my team, my three assistants: Lin Koujo, Taniyama Mai and Yasuhara Osamu; our exorcists: Takigawa Hoshou, Matsuzaki Ayako, John Brown, Abe no Kei and his sister Rei, and Sasaki Aki; also…our two mediums: Hara Masako and Momaka Hikaru"

We all bowed at Kawamura-san and he nodded.

"You all look so young…" the man said " would you really accept this case?"

"Haven't I already accepted?" Naru said raising his eyebrow.

"Well…you now say it, but won't you change your mind when you see the place you're about to enter? The other researchers did…"Kawamura-san said. Others?

"You mean…other paranormal researcher had come to check the place? "Bou-san asked.

"Yes…but after knowing about this place, they all declined the case and left immediately…" he replied sadly.

"What's wrong with the place?" I asked puzzled " It's just a museum…isn't it?"

"Yes, young lady…it is… now. This mansion behind us was once the home of a powerful family during the Edo Period. This house belonged to Lord Himuro and his family…"

"Wait…what? Himuro?" Rei said surprised " You mean this _is_ the Himuro Mansion? No way…Mother how's that you didn't mention it?"

"Oh, well. I might have forgotten to give you this little detail…my wrong…" Li-san repled carelessly.

"YOU DID WHAT?"Kei and Rei said unison.

"Hey…but what's wrong if this place was once from Lord Himuro…?" I asked puzzled.

"Ne Mai…you should know about it; you're studying this kind of things…" Aki said frowning.

"I should?" I replied puzzled.

Aki sighed with her hand on her forehead, as Hikaru, who was standing by my side, giggled.

"In fact…I've heard of it too…" Yasuhara said thoughtful "Isn't there a urban legend about the Himuros?"

_"In an area outside Tokyo, there lies a mansion in which it's said seven people were murdered in a grisly manner. On the same property, there lie three detached residences that surround the mansion, all of which are rumored to have ties to the mansion's troubled past. It's said there is an underground network of tunnels that lay beneath the premises, but nobody knows who made these tunnels or what purpose they served. Many inexplicable phenomenon have been reported occurring on the property. Bloody handprints have been found splattered all over the walls. Spirits have been spotted on the premises even in broad daylight. A narrow stairway leads to an attic where a spirit-sealed talisman is rumored to be locked away. Men have sought this talisman, only to be found later with their bodies broken and rope marks around their wrists. There's a crumbling old statue of a woman in a kimono, but its head is missing. If you take a photo of a certain window, a young girl can be seen in the developed picture. These incidents have provoked fear in the people of Tokyo, and many believe that those who live near this area will become cursed. (1)" _Hikaru recited " That's the legend…"

"Oh…I see you know it, young lady " Kawamura-san said.

"I read it somewhere…" Hikaru smiled.

"Yes! Though the version I know is a little different…" Yasuhara said hitting his palm.

"And how's that you know, young man?" Bou-san asked with frowning.

"Sakauchi-Kun…" he replied. I remembered that name, back then when we met Yasuhara, his school had been cursed by an student that committed suicide: Sakauchi-kun "He was very into paranormal stuff, and he once told us that legend…"

"Oh!" I said surprised " I've never heard of it…"

"I can't understand how…you're studying folklore…urban legends are something you should be familiar with…" Aki said.

I laughed nervously, scratching my chin.

"Urban legend or not, I never abandon a case…" Naru said coldy interrumpting us all.

Well that was true, Naru's pride and stubbornness was stronger than his own instinct of self preservation. I sighed, this seemed like it'd be quite a dangerous case…

"Kawamura-san, if you'd be kind enough to open the door so that we can start setting our equipment. .." Naru said.

Kawamura-san nodded. I could see his thankful face as he pulled out the keys from his pocket and opened the doors of the manor. The door opened with a creepy squeak. I felt a cold sensation ran down my spine and I brought my hand over my mouth.

"That…smell…" I muttered.

Behind me, I saw Masako fell on her knees almost fainting, covering her face with her sleeve. Ayako rushed to her and held her.

"Nee Masako…what's wrong?" she asked.

"This place….is horrible…the smell of blood is so choking, and those feelings…oh my god. I've never been in a place like this before…" she replied. She had got really pale, and she seemed as if she was going to get sick any time " I can't get inside…I'm sorry, I just can't…."

Ayako raised her look and looked at Naru. His eyes were locked on Masako, and before he turned around he said:

"Very well… if you can't then you may leave, Hara-san…"

I looked at him annoyed. Why did Naru always have to be such a jerk?

"Nee Naru…you can't treat, Masako like that…"

"If she can't walk into the manor, then she's of no use in this case…" he simply replied.

"Why you horrible egotistical jerk…!" I yelled at him " Can't you see how uncomfortable she is?"

"Like I said…if she can't take, she can leave. Now, Mai…stop slacking around and bring the equipment to the base.

Before I could say anything about it Naru, had already entered the mansion and disappeared from view. I stomped angrily behind him.

Masako was still being held by Ayako, and she didn't seem to get any better. Naru was right, it might be better for her to leave, but then...couldn't he at least try to be a little nicer, for Masako's sake?

"Hara-san…I think, Shibuya-san might be right. " Rei said kneeling in front of her smiling kindly.

"I…don't…want to leave…I want to help with this case, as well…" Masako replied looking at me reproachfully.

I knew what that look meant, she simply wasn't allowing me to stay here and be alone with Naru.

"I understand that…but health is always priority…" Rei said " If you're not willing to leave at all, at least stay with Kawamura-san. As long as you're out of the manor, you won't feel ill. You can assist Shibuya-san from there…we just don't want to take risk, Hara-san. You won't be doing any good to anyone if you're not even capable of staying on your feet…"

Rei was a curious person. She was able to get people to regain a sense and soothe them at the same time.

"Rei is right, Masako…" I smiled at her " It's for your good…"

Masako sighed and nodded in defeat. I smiled at her again and walked to the van to help Lin-san to take out the equipment. Bou-san, Yasuhara, Hikaru and Aki joined to help us, too, while Ayako and John stayed there with Masako; Kei and Rei were bickering with their mother.

As soon as I stepped into the manor the awful feeling crawled through my guts, once again. Masako was right, the smell of blood lingered in the air making me feel nauseous.

This was going to be a hard case…my instincts told me so.

**Yey chapter 2 is finished. I hope you enjoy it and sorry if it's a little boring.**

**(1) This is textual to the description made by Makoto Shibata about one of the legends that were used to inspire the Fatal Frame I game, in the promo of the game…**


	23. Chapter 23

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. :)I promised some chibis some chapters ago. I finally finished them so you can check on them here****:**

** art/Missing-archives-321250162 **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, fav and follow the story. You're the motivation to keep writing. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#3**

We finished setting the base faster than I had expected. Masako was taken to Kawamura's house, where she was kindly received by Kawamura's wife: Kotoko. Li-san would be staying with her as well.

" Mai, Takigawa-san, Rei-san, Brown-san… you'll go with Kawamura-san around the mansion settling the cameras, and taking the temperatures. Matsuzaki-san, Sasaki-san and Yasuhara-san… you three will go to the archives of the manor and find anything useful about the house history. Kei-san, Momoka-san, Lin and I will prepare everything for the interviews. The place is big, so don't get separated…the last thing we need it's the someone gets lost…" he added glaring at me. I just rolled my eyes.

Kawamura-san gave us a smile as he gestured us to follow him. We walked out of the base behind him. I looked around curiously. The house was very well cared, there were ancient furnitures, decorations, cloths and paintings everywhere; the rooms were all neatly decorated in an ancient style, that made me feel almost as if I had gone back through time.

"The Mansion has been arranged so that it'd look as it originally was during the life of Lord Himuro…" Kawamura-san explained.

"Kawamura-san….I assume you're aware of the stories that run around the Himuro family right?" Rei asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Honestly, Mai. Are you even bothering to make the homeworks that Ashitaka leaves you?" Rei asked raising her eyebrow " I really doubt that Ashitaka hasn't mention anything about the Himuro legend. It's quite popular actually…"

"Well…I've never heard of it…"

"Oh…you're hopeless, Mai…." Rei said slapping her forehead causing Bou-san laugh.

"That's our Mai, for you…" he lauged Bou-san " Idiot as always…."

"Ohmg, Fine! Sorry for not knowing…" I said annoyed " Anyway, what are the rumors you say…?"

"Well…it was said that Lord Himuro, as he predecessors, practiced dark rituals in the deepness of his mansion. Some years ago, some of my relatives were sent to investigate the haunting and put an end to it, so we have some records about this place, too."

"Your family tried to exorcise this place?" Bou-san said surprised " But the fact that the haunting continue…it means the exorcise didn't work…"

"I guess…I really don't know. It was years before Kei and I were born, but those notes will be of used. Kei is reading them now, so he'll find something in no time…"

"But aren't those notes in your house, Rei?"

"My mom brought them for us…."

"Wait, how did she know we'll need them?"

"My mother is a fortune reader…" Rei explained "her abilities are similar to yours, Mai, but intensified "

"So she also have 'enlightening' dreams?"

"Yes….but differently from you, she can control what she wants to see and where"

"That's impressive. Oi, Mai, you should ask that woman to train you!"

"Mmm…that's not a bad idea, you know?I can't picture you as my mother's trainee though …my mother is such a pain of a master…"…"

"How's that?"

"Well…there was this one time when…."

Before Rei could continue with story, the sound of static from our communicators made us give a jump and soon after, Naru's angry voice snapped at us.

"As much as you're enjoying yourselves with your nonsenses, you're not being paid to share your past experiences with each other. Now hurry and set down those cameras. Mai, if you're not here by the time we start with the interviews I'm cutting your paid equal to the time you're late…"

I opened my mouth to reply at him, and then I realized that he'd already hung off.

"Kei, you idiot!" Rei mumbled annoyed into her microphone " You let him eavesdrop our conversation! What if we had been discussing certain topic, you imbecile?"

"Well…sorry about that. I didn't notice him by my side…"Kei apologized.

"Late, late…anyway, Kawamura-san, where are we now?"

"This is the Great Hall. This room was intended to attend any official issue concerning the family. Like you can see, the room is divided in two individual rooms by the shoji door. The other room is intended to hold the familiar altar. It's the one the bottom of the room"

"Amazing…" Rei said smilling " This place is really well decorated. Even the altar seems original…"

"Indeed. It's the original altar, of course that it needed to be restored and some repairs.; but at least the 80% of it is from the original…"

"Woooh…that's incredible " Bou-san said impressed " Well…Mai, you take the temperatures, meanwhile, Rei-chan and I will set the cameras "

"Ok!"

Rei and Bou-san walked around the hall testing the angles for the cameras. I stood on my spot with thermometer in hand as I waited for it to stabilize. Something was off, and now that I couldn't hear the others talking, the same awkward feeling began to emerge from my guts, making me nervous. I just wished that thermometer would give me the temperature once for all…wait, that was weird, it'd never taken so long to get the temperature…could it be broken?

_Drip_

I froze, while the numbers in the gadget's screen keep going up and down. Water? Suddenly the horrible metallic smell of blood reached my nose, and I felt like throwing up. I turned to see at Bou-san and Rei, and found them struggling with camera at the other side of the room with Kawamura-san. Hadn't they smelled it?

_Drip _

The sound came from behind me. I turned my head slowly, praying that I wouldn't meet face to face a ghost so early in the case.

There was no one in there, only the familiar altar and….a red puddle over the tatami floor. The blood puddle came sliding from behind the shoji door. Wherever it came from that thing was hidden behind the wall…

My heart began beating faster and then I saw it. A pale arm stained with blood fell on the blood puddle, splashing blood drops all over the tatami, and to my horror…the hand was still moving.

I let out a scream dropping the thermometer and falling backwards in fear. The arm was trying to pull the rest of the body out. If the arm looked that creepy, I didn't want to see the rest of it!

"Jou-chan!"

Suddenly the arm vanished from my view, and instead, was replaced by Bou-san's concerned face.

"Mai! What happened?" I heard Naru's voice asked me. A couple of minutes later, he was kneeling by my side. He was still catching his breath, which meant that he'd came all the way running from base. In other moment, it would have made me happy, but right now, I was too scared to pay any attention to it.

I grabbed Naru's arm and curled in fear. The images of the arm keep popping into my mind.

"Shibuya-san…" I heard Rei say "You need to see this…"

Naru released me carefully and walked to Rei. She was standing in front of the spot that I'd seen the puddle a while ago.

"This….wasn't here when we came into the room"

"What is it?"

I looked at the floor: there was neither blood nor arm in there, only a faint black spot over the mat.

Rei knelt examining the spot.

"It looks like blood, but I can't be sure without some testings. I can do it if you want me to"

"Do as you must…" Naru said seriously " Takigawa-san, I'll ask Matsuzaki-san to join int the setting of the rest of the cameras. Rei-san will ran the test over the spot and I'll take Mai back into base. She seems like she needs to rest…"

"Of course…" Bou-san said. I felt him put his hand on my shoulder comfortingly " Go, Mai…"

I nodded shyly as I tried to stand. My legs were trembling horribly; Rei held my arm kindly walking me to the door, where Naru was standing.

"Kawamura-san, once you finish showing them the house, there are some questions that I'd like to make you"

"Of course, Shibuya –san…."

Naru held my other arm. After that, the only thing I could remember, was being taken into the base.

**That's it for the 3 chapter. Please Review! ;P**


	24. Chapter 24

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**To begin…I want to thank everyone who reviewed. I've got a small favor to ask you all. You see English is my second language, so I may do some awful grammar/spelling mistakes, feel free to correct me if you see them, but I'm telling you that I d them unconsciously so if you got one and want me to correct it I beg you to tell me where is it…I usually read the chapter twice before updating to correct most of the mistakes, so if you would be kind enough …I'll really appreciate it.**

**BTW We are in the seventh month, the ghost festival is close! buuuuu**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#4**

"Here…"

Suddenly a cup of warm tea was being hold in front of my face. I raised my look and found Hikaru staring at me with a gentle smile.

I was sitting in the base, still trying to recover from my recent shock. Naru was sitting in front of me, checking some papers over the table; Lin-san was sitting next to him typing whatever Naru commented. Kei was watching the screens and at the same time, I saw him eyeing an old notebook. Rei was by the window working on something. I couldn't see what it was since she was giving me her back, but I could hear the chinking of glass.

"Better?" Hikaru asked me sitting down next to me.

I sipped my tea before answering.

"Yes…a lot better "

"That's good…You got us worried…"

I smiled at her gratefully.

"Mai…" Naru called me "Explain…what happened there?"

"Yes, I'm great. Thanks for your concern…" I said annoyed.

Naru raised his eyebrow.

"If you're able to answer back like that, you surely are okay…"

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"I'm not sure what I saw…"I said. The images returning to my mind and making a chill ran down my spine. I shook my head before I talked again. "It might have been a vision…but it felt so real. I was taking the temperature of the room like I always do but strangely, the thermometer wouldn't give the right measure…it kept going up and down as crazy! I thought it might have been broken, but suddenly…the air in the room became thicker, and I smelled blood"

"Blood?" Naru asked " Rei-san…?"

"We didn't feel anything back then….it was only 'til Mai screamed that we felt something off, but as soon as it appeared it also vanished…" Rei replied.

Naru looked at me thoughtful, before asking me to continue.

"I heard some dripping behind me, and I thought it was weird. I turned my head to look behind me and I saw this…blood puddle sliding slowly from behind the door, out of sudden a p-pale arm fall on the puddle and….i-it began….to move as if it wanted to reach me…" I added lowering my face.

I felt like I was going to get sick again. Hikaru rubbed my back trying to make me feel better; I took her hand gratefully and looked back at Naru.

"Is that all?"

I nodded. Naru grabbed his chin thinking.

"Momoka-san…since Hara-san isn't able to assist us in this case, we must rely on your abilities instead. Can you feel anything?"

Hikaru took a deep breath and closed her eyes almost as if she was meditating. She looked like one of those sleeping porcelain dolls.

"Just like Li-san said previously, this place is really filled with negative energy. There are many souls in this mansion, and most of them seems to be hostile; but I'm worried about two spirits in particular…"

"Only two?"

"Hai…the other spirits are like any other wandering spirit, they won't be to hard to exorcise…this two, nevertheless, seem to be very corrupted, but fortunately, they're still vengeful spirits and haven't turn into demons…yet…"

"Can you tell the spots where these spirits are?"

"Mmm…not right now; they seem to be restless with Matsuzaki-san and Takigawa-san setting the cameras. Once they're back, they'll probably calm down and I might be able to locate them…"

"Very well, we'll wait then…" Naru sighed " Rei-san…do you have the results from your tests?"

"Just a couple of minutes more, Shibuya-san…"

Rei was wearing some protective glasses and gloves. I saw something boiling in a complicated lab equipment on the table and a stand with some test tubes. There was also a piece of the straw tatami mat from the hall on the table. I could see the faint dark marks interweaving between fibers.

"Is that….lab equipment?" I asked puzzled"Rei…do you have a laboratory hidden in your bag?"

"Of course not, Mai…" she replied frowning "This is just some basic equipment…besides what I want to do is not that complicated…"

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"Uhmm…haha!" she laughed triumphantly "phenolphthalein, potassium hydroxide and zinc, alcohol and water. It's not the most accurate test to prove if something is or isn't blood, but it'd work for us unless that's actually radish or potato juice, which I doubt."

"Eh?" I said without understanding a single word she'd just said.

"Oh…ignore all her chemistry blabber…" Kei said rolling his eyes "No one is interested in all that trash…"

"Hah…my chemistry blabber is a way better than your circuits…"

"At least my circuits are useful…"

"So is my chemistry…! Besides I don't know how much you brag about that. All the circuits that falls on your hand always end up burned out"

"Yeah, like your bottles that explode…"

"GEEK!"

"NERD"

Hikaru giggled and let out a soft laugh. Suddenly, the door of the base slid open and both, John and Yasuhara entered the room. Each of them was holding big piles of books and papers.

"Mai-san" John said smiling gently "How are you feeling?"

"I'm a lot better, John!" I said smiling cheerfully.

"Ohhh….Mai-chaaaan! You scared me to death! "Yasuhara snapped putting the books on the table and pulling me into a strong hug " Bad girl…bad girl….making me worry so much!"

"Yasuhara! Let me go already!" I mumbled on his chest as I pulled away " Geez, Yasu…you want to kill me?"

"Sorry, Mai-chan… I can't help it when my dear lover is always getting into trouble…oh…."

"Yasuhara-san…" Naru said glaring at us " Harassing Mai it's not what I asked you to do"

"Oh, that's right boss…" Yasuhara said getting serious once of sudden " I brought all the notes I found in the storage room Kawamura-san showed us earlier"

"I see. Did you find anything important…?"

"Uhm….this notes are things that Kawamura-san found when they were remodeling the house some years before it was turned into a museum…" Yasuhara explained " We haven't finish checking on them yet, but what we've read…uhm…it's really disturbing…"

"Disturbing…?"

"UH….first, this it's a diary written by a folklorist named Munakata Ryozo. He was one of the most recent owners of the mansion. He moved into the mansion in order to study the history of the house along with his wife and daughter, but according to this news clipping, the whole family disappeared without trace one day. There's also…a lot of other many disappearances in this grounds, and there's this article written by Assou Yuu that makes a small reference to this house . Let me read it for you: _T__he House Of Mutilation:__ In the mountain area of Himuro, there remains a manor where years ago there was said to be a massacre. There have always been vanishings in the nearby forest and many of the spirited aways are said to end up in the corpses have been found with both hands, legs and head severed off. (1)_"

"Severed off…it's sounds pretty much like how they found one of the girls, doesn't it?" I said.

"Indeed, my dear, Mai. I also found this news paper telling about a famous novelist going missing during an expedition to this place in 1986. The mansion was still abandoned back then, and remained like that by many years until Kawamura-san came and turned into the museum we're standing at, right now…"

"I see... Did you find anything about the Himuro family?"

"Not yet, I'm sorry. There's still a lot of reading to do, but that's all I managed to read until now…"

"If you find anything tell us immediately…"

"Yes boss!"

Once again the door of the base slid open, this time Ayako and Bou-san walked in followed by Kawamura-san.

"Shibuya-san…." The man said " I'm ready for your questions…"

"Excellent…" nodded Naru " Mai…"

"Yes?"

"Tea…"

I rolled my eyes and stood up and walked to the door.

"Wait! You're not planning to go on your own are you?" Kei said.

"Eh?"

"Stupid, you're a ghost magnet; the last thing we must do is leaving you alone in an awfully haunted mansion. I'll go with you…" Kei said standing up.

"That won't be necessary, Kei-san…Takigawa-san can go with her…" Naru said coldly making Kei stare at him in confusion. Was it my imagination or he'd just glared at the male twin?

I sighed as I walked out followed by Bou-san to make the tea. The house suddenly felt colder than I'd felt it before. It was weird, since it was summer, the house should be burning hot. The rooms around had all their doors closed, and it somehow made me feel like they will open on their own any time soon. Never in my life had I felt this scared, and yet, I couldn't tell why was I scared…

"Ne…Bou-san…"

"What's it, Jou-chan?"

"Don't you feel uncomfortable in this place?"

"Uncomfortable? I must admit that this place is starting to scare the hell out of me…" He replied honestly " Why do you ask?"

"Oh….nothing…I was just curious…"

"This place is odd, anyway….we better try to stay together and never wander off on our own, is it clear, jou-chan?"

"I know…I know…" I said sighing. I really wasn't in the mood to get lectured now " Can we hurry, I really want to go back into base…I'm a little nervous out here…"

"Sure let's go…."

**Congratulations, you just finished reading Blood stained manor #4 **

**I hope this chapter wasn't too boring for your taste…**

**Here are some notes**

**(1) This is a reference to one of the notes from Fatal Frame III the tormented. **

**Review!**


	25. Chapter 25

iGHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**I was inspired so I updated twice today haha…not really. This was originally part of the last chapter…but it made it too long so I split it into two chapters. Hope you like it and you know what I usually ask you for. **

**Thanks to all the people supporting this story...I'm so touched and happy with your nice reviews. I love you guys...really really love you.  
**

***HUGS*  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#5**

"Kawamura-san…" Naru said as I scribbled in my note pad, after bringing Naru's tea he had made me take notes of the interview with Kawamura-san. "How long have you owned the property?"

"It's been in my family for while…." Kawamura-san said " My great-grand father bought it when he was young…"

"Your great-grand father?"

" Munakata Ryozo…."

The whole room gasped, except of Lin-san and Naru of course.

"You mean…the folklorist?"

"Yes…my great-grand father moved to this Mansion with my great-grandmother and my grandmother"

"But…the whole Munakata family disappeared…" Yasuhara said.

"Yes, but my grandmother, Mikoto, was found hidden in the woods a while after her parents went missing. She was taken by a foster family and later married having to daughters, my mother and my aunt:Miyuki (1)"

"I see…did you grandmother ever said anything about this place?"

"Uh….yes. She was terrified by it. She wouldn't even get close to it, that's why the Manor remained abandoned for so many years. I recently restore it and turned it into a museum two years ago…"

"Uhm….our familiars came here when the house was still abandoned then" Kei commented.

"Indeed…it was my grandmother who asked them for help. I was still a child back then…" Kawamura-san said " Things calmed a little after their visit. In fact anything weird happened until two months after the museum opened…"

"What kind of things happened?"

"Well…the tatami mats from the great hall, as you already saw. No matter how many times we change the mat on that spot, it gets dirtied again. Also in the upper rooms….our visitors have claimed to hear children running and laughing around them. There's a well in the backyard, when you walk close to it, you can hear as if something was hitting the cover, and in one of the Manor's shrines: The Narukami Manor, you can hear cries of pain at night. Also, by the pond, a place we call the Abyss, some of our visitors claimed that they'd seen a young man standing at the shore looking into the water…"

"Waaaahh…wait, wait…I can't write so fast!" I cried out. The amount of incidents were incredible.

"Man…those are a lot of cases…." Bou-san said rubbing his head " Exorcising all of them is going to be tough!"

"Oh, stop complaining. Old man…" Ayako scolded him.

"Well…easy for you to say it. You aren't the one having to perform the exorcises after all, useless miko"

"What did you say, stupid Monk?!"

Before Bou-san could replied, Naru had shut them with a scary glare.

"Kawamura-san, are there any other incidents?"

"As a matter of fact, yes…" Kawamura-san said sadly "There's a room we call the Koto Room because there is a koto(1) in there. Some people have heard it play all by itself, and by the stairs, some of our visitors have tripped saying that someone grabbed their ankles…"

"I see….Kawamura-san, do you believe we can interview the rest of your family and your daughter as well? I understand she's…."

"She's the girl whose eyes were pierced, yes…"

I covered my mouth. I knew there was a girl whose eyes had been damaged, but I never thought it had been Kawamura-san's own daughter.

"My daughter had been staying in her college, and she'd recently come back. She never liked the manor, as a matter of fact, she would never enter here. She said she had a bad feeling from this place. The day she disappeared…she went in to find me…"

" oh…Kawamura-san….I'm so sorry…"

"It's ok, Taniyama-san…" He smiled at me sadly " Just please…I want all this to stop, once for all…"

"Can we speak to her?" Naru aked.

"I think so, but you may need to visit her in the hospital, though…my wife is staying with her."

"very, well…thank you, Kawamura-san. You may leave…"

The man nodded and stood up and walked to the door, before he opened it he turned to us.

"Shibuya-san…as you requested…the futons are inside the chest in that corner…"

With that, he walked out of the room. The rest of us began talking about what we'd just learned.

"Ne Naru….what did Kawamura-san mean with the futons being in the chest?"

"You're simply idiot, Mai. The futons we're using to sleep of course."

"Eh? Wait…you mean we're all sleeping in base?" I said making the rest of the team stare at me.

"Well yes…" Aki said " It's the safest if we all stay together. This place is too dangerous for us to take any risks…we?ve already secured the base with Matsuzaki-san's charms, Kei's spell papers and nails and Hikaru´s beads…"

"Wow…that's a lot of barriers…aren't we ecagerating a bit?" Bou-san asked.

"Not really…"Aki said " the spirits in this manor are hostile. We can't afford to be careless…"

"Aki is right…" Rei said coming to sit with us " The results were positive. The spot on the Great Hall is blood…"

That was the answer I'd been afraid to get. It meant that my vision had been real.

"Well…now what?" Kei asked.

"We can call it a day…you can all rest" Naru stood up and went to sit in front of the screens with Lin-san " We have a lot of work tomorrow…."

_It was dark… weird. I was in the base, there should be the lights of the screens lighting the room, but no, it's was completely black. I got up slowly and looked around just to find the futons empty. There was no one around me. Where have they gone?_

_Drip_

_That sound again…I could feel my heart begin to pound harder. The smell of blood reaching at me , once again and making me feel awfully sick. _

_Suddenly, I heard the crack of the flooring. I looked to the shoji doors and horridied, I saw that there was actually light behind them; but it wasn't the light what scared me the most, there were two figures, a tall human shaped black shadow with something long on its hand, and infront of him…there was another shadow; one that seemed to be a female crawling on the floor and trying to escape from the tallest. The man used his empty hand to grab at the other shadows hair and lift her in the air._

_I had to put my hands over my mouth to drown my scream as I watched how the man raised the long thing on him other hand and slid it on the other shadow on his grip. There was a black liquid that splashed all over the screens of the door and an awful sound of something hitting the floor, when the man threw the lifeless body into the floor._

_The black shadow turned to face the door in front of me and I saw him putting his hand on it ready to slide it open. _

_No…this has to be a dream…this can't be real…_

_No…._

_Horror filled me as I watched the door shake slight in at the shade's touch…. I shut my eyes tightly, not wanting to see the face of the ghost. The smell of blood intensified, and the dripping became louder…. then I knew it… I was going to die._

**(1) All right, according to Fatal Frame 1, Mikoto only had one child who was Miyuki: Miku and Mufuyu's mother, but for this fic purposes I made her have another chid who is Kawamura's mother. **

**I hope you liked the chapter….Don't forget to review ;P**


	26. Chapter 26

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**I love you my dear readers, so I couldn't leave you with that cliffhanger from the last chapter. I hope you like the chapter.**

**Once again, in case any Fatal Frame fan is reading this. In this case I'm not dealing with the exact story of the game, I'm just using some elements from the game itself such as setting, some ghosts and the notes that Yasuhara is researching. So don't expect me to write the whole game walkthrough or the whole ghosts of the manor. Same rules that I applied to the first case based on Kuon.**

**No enjoy the chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor #6**

_I felt the panic engulf me…I was so scared. I'm not ready to die just yet… The tears began to slide down my cheeks; and then…_

"_Mai..:"_

_I opened my eyes. I was sitting in the middle of the darkness surrounded by pretty fireflies. I knew this place…._

"_Mai…" someone said putting his hand over my shoulder. I turned to find Gene's apologetic smile in front of me " I'm sorry. I should have pulled you out from there sooner, but I couldn't reach you…"_

_I cleaned my tears and shook my head. I was so happy to see him, for a second I thought I'd die…_

"_You took me out, that's what matters…" I smiled at him_

_Gene returned my smile as he took my hand and helped me get up. The scene around us suddenly changed and we were standing in the entrance of the manor._

"_Gene…?."_

"_I'm going to show you something, Mai…"he said seriously "but you must promise me…you won't make any sound. These things I show you are memories; those spirits can notice us if we are not careful…Do you understand?"_

"_I do…" I smiled grabbing his hand" let's go"_

_The scenery switched again, and now we were standing somewhere inside the mansion. There were many trees tied with ropes and long stair that ended in small shrine._

_A man with gray hair passed between us and fell at the foot of the stairs panting. I saw some strange marks on his wrist and neck; he was holding something tightly against his chest, and there was nasty injury over his shoulder that bled a lot._

"…_Must…reach…must find the mirror…" he panted._

_He began to crawl up the stairs, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Gene pulled my hand motioning me to follow him. I felt pity for the man…he was badly injured, and as much as I could see he didn't have much more time left. How had he gotten wounded? He was almost reaching the top when suddenly a black shade passed us._

_Suddenly, the man stopped and his face was painted in horror. A tall man wearing a demon mask was standing in front of him holding a blood stained katana._

"_No…No…! Please!" the man cried._

_The masked man didn't reply. He raised his katana in the air. Gene pulled me against his chest so that I wouldn't see how the blade cut the man's flesh, but still it didn't make the sound disappear. The thing that the man had been holding fell to the ground and rolled away disappearing between the grasses at the edge of the stairs. I couldn't see what it was, exactly,but it seemed like some kind of statue._

_Poor man…The blood began to slide down the rocky stairs splashing my shoes. The smell so horrible that I couldn't take it anymore and gasped…_

_WRONG!_

_I watched Gene's face in horror. His eyes were wide open in terror. The masked man was looking straight at us…he knew of our presence. He tightened the grip of his sword and began to walk at us, leaving some bloody footprints._

"_Mai! You can't stay…Run! Run and wake up! It's dangerous!" Gene cried pushing me down the stairs._

"_WAIT! What about you?"_

"_I'm dead, Mai…I'll be fine! Just run! Don't stop and go! You have to wake up or may never wake up again!"_

_I nodded and began to run. I could hear the steps following me behind, but I didn't bother to look back. I just kept running and running….but running where? I had no idea where I was, nor where I had to go? This was my dream…and yet I didn't know how to wake up from it…._

'_Naru' I thought desperately' Naru…please….wake me up!"_

_An incredible pain on my back hit me. I felt the warm blood staining my clothes as I cried out…and then…everything went blank._

"MAI!"

I my eyes snapped open. I was lying on my futon, panting and a incredible pain was piercing my back. Naru was kneeling in front of me with his pajamas. The rest of the team was also surrounding me, and they all looked awfully worried.

I tried to get up, but the pain in my back made me whimper. I felt something warm and watched in horror that it was blood.

"She's bleeding!" Ayako cried out "Quick bring me the first aid kit!"

Aki was suddenly by my side pulling my shirt up form my back, and I heard her curse. Was it real? But…it'd just been a dream…how?

"Mai…we need to clean you up…this is going hurt…" Aki said quietly "The rest of you….walked to the other side of the screen. Matsuzaki-san and I will handle this…"

I heard their steps getting away as I keep crying in pain. It hurt so badly! Ayako and Aki began working on my wound making me hiss of pain. I was doing my best not to scream, I didn't want the team at the other side of the paper screen that separated the base from our sleeping area, to hear me screaming, I knew they were already too worried…but it was too hard. The medicine they were putting me burned a lot and judging for the amount of cottons and gazes they used, I could presume that the wound probably ran over my whole back.

"This will need some stitches…" Aki said " I've got the equipment hear and its already sterilized… Matsuzaki-san…do you think you may do it? If not…I can do it myself, but since I'm not yet a licensed doctor…you may prefer to do it instead."

"I'll do it….do you have local anesthesia?"

"Yes…right here. Mai…this will feel weird first, but it'll stop to hurt…just bear with it for while"

I managed to nod, and immediately after, I felt a slight twitch in my shoulder and the pain began to fade. I don't know how long it took them to stitch my wound, but they finished after some minutes.

The anesthesia was working well, so I felt absolutely no pain as they bandaged me and help me change into some clean clothes. Then Ayako vanished behind the screen and Aki was left by my side holding my hand.

"Thank you…" I whispered.

"You don't need to thank us. You're lucky…the injury was only superficial. If it'd been a little deeper, we would need to take you to the hospital…"

"Oh…I hate hospitals…" I sighed.

"Uh…it's ok now. You just be careful with it, and it'll be fine " Aki smiled " Mai…that wound…"

"Yes?"

"I can recognize it…it was made by a blade…"

"You got me…"

"Mai…"

I raised my look to meet Naru's gaze. I could see the worry in his eyes. He knelt by my side and looked at me.

"I know…" I said knowing that he wanted to know about my dream. I began explaining everything. I could see that the team had been holding their breaths until I finally finished my story. They all gasped when I told them the end…how I had felt the Masked man's blade cutting my flesh, just to wake up with a real wound.

"But it was a dream!" Bou-san said clenching his fists " how the hell…?"

"I think I know…" Kei said " You said it was a memory right?"

"But Mai-san had this kind of dreams before and she'd never been hurt like this" John said.

"You're right…"Kei said " But I think, this time…Mai wasn't actually dreaming. She was astroprojecting herself"

"No way…I can't astroproject into the past…" I said.

"No…but maybe watch you see wasn't exactly in the past." Kei said.

"I get what you mean…" Rei said.

"Mind to enlighten us? I'm really not getting his point" Yasuhara said crossing his arms on his chest.

"Sometimes, when spirits die in a very regretful way, their spirits are tied to the event, and they're condemned to repeat their acts over and over, until they're able to redeem themselves and rest in peace…" Rei explained.

"I thought that only happened to the ones who committed suicide…" Bou-san asked.

"Most likely…" Kei agreed "But it may often happen due to a curse or well, a stronger will that causes it. I think that, what Mai actually saw, was soul repeating his death…that's why the Masked man, as you called him, could see you and harm you"

"Uh…it'd make sense " Naru said "So now…we must figure out who is this ghost. Also…I'd like to check on the shrine that Mai saw. As long as it daylight, there should be no problem. Mai…can you…?"

"I'll do it…I just want to end this and leave once for all " I sighed.

"Very well…Tomorrow, Yasuhara-san….I want you to investigate as much as you can and try to figure out the identity of this spirit. Kei-san can help you. Takigawa-san, Rei-san , Sasaki-san and Lin… you'll go with Mai to the two shrines from the manor…"

"Lin-san, too?" I asked puzzle " Naru…I think we're enough…"

"This ghost have shown to be really hostile…I want to make sure you won't be wandering around unprotected. I trust they'll handle any troubling situation and keep you safe "

Naru was worrying about my safety! He did really care about me.

"It's troublesome to have such idiotic trouble prone as an assistant" he added with a smirk.

Forget about him caring about me.

" If I go, who'll stay with you then?" Lin-san asked frowning.

"I can handle it on my own…"

"Noll…"

"I'll keep an eye on him…" Kei offered earning one of Naru's characteristic glares " With me and John, we can protect him"

Lin-san simply nodded.

"That's all…let's try to rest…"

The team sighed and they all headed back to their futons. Before Naru got up and walked away, I managed to grab his sleeve. He stopped and stared at me puzzled. Surprisingly, he didn't seem mad…

"I don't…want to sleep…" I mumbled.

Naru looked at me.

"Everything will be fine, Mai…"

"No…if I fall sleep…I'll meet him again, and then maybe…I won't be able to wake up this time…" I said. The tears were beginning to fall. Don't cry, Mai…not in front of Naru" …I'm scared…"

I heard Naru sigh and suddenly he hugged me; making sure that he didn't touch my wounded back. Naru was hugging me…it wasn't Gene; it _really _was Naru who was here trying to comfort me with a hug. For a second I tried to picture Masako's face if she saw us, but I quickly casted away the thought. It wasn't time to think of those stupidities…

I simply sobbed in his arms and enjoyed of his unusual caring attitude, until I finally fade into a dreamless sleep.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter n.n. have a nice day/night!**

**Stay tuned mina and don't forget to review. **


	27. Chapter 27

iGHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Another chapter….Thanks for reading and reviewing. There's some filler at the beginning…don't hate me for it…**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#7**

Next morning, I woke up with my back hurting like hell, and a delicious smell floating in base.

"Good morning sleepy head…" Bou-san said.

"Mai…how are you feeling?" Ayako asked concerned.

The gang was sitting at the table eating breakfast: some nicely packed bentos.

"I'll survive…" I smiled sitting between Bou-san and John hissing "What's this?"

"Breakfast of course" Yasuhara smiled " Li-san made it for us…I've got say that it really was very kind from her…"

"Oh, so the twins' mother brought this for us? But wait….why aren't you two eating?" I added.

Kei and Rei were sitting at the end of the table. Neither of them had any food in front, only a cup of tea steamy tea.

"We can't eat…" Kei said rubbing the back of his head.

"What?"

"We can't have any meal before a exorcism…"

"Honestly, Mai…haven't you noticed that we never eat anything during a case?" Kei said frowning " Idiot…"

"Well…I'm not paying attention to your eating habits, sorry…" I said annoyed " I just thought you were eating when no one was looking…"

"Oh…you're really an idiot then" laughed Kei.

"What? Now you're calling me idiot, too? Oh come on…it was already enough with Naru alone…" I ranted, and the rest laughed. Even Lin-san chuckled.

"Stop slacking…" Naru said coldly "Mai…stop wasting your time and finish you breakfast. We've got a lot to do today…"

I sighed. Why was Naru already in such an awful mood? I began eating my breakfast in silence, while I listened about what the others had to talk about. They were making plans of which places required an immediate exorcism, and the possible ghosts present.

Today's schedule was simple; as Naru had ordered last night, Bou-san, Rei, Aki and Lin-san would visit the shrines from the manor with me, and Yasuhara woulde keep researching about the manor. Kei and John would stay in base; Naru, Ayako and Masako (who was out of the manor) would go to the hospital to visit, Kawamura-san's daughter.

"Ne…Naru…"I said "Are you sure you don't want Lin-san to go with you as always? I mean…I think I've got enough escort already, and if you're not convinced I could always ask Kei to tag along… "

Naru glared at me, almost as if I had just said something offensive. I could swear I'd felt the air in the room getting chiller. Bou-san chocked with his tea, and John patted his back with a nervous smile. Ayako and Yasuhara began to giggle; Hikaru smiled; Aki pinched the bridge of her nose shaking her head; Rei rolled her eyes, Kei rubbed the back of his head nervously as he smiled and Lin-san had faint smile in his lips as well. I looked at them puzzled. What was the joke?

"Lin will go with you Mai…and that's final. Kei-san will stay in base with Brown-san." He said bluntly.

"Fine, fine…" I replied defeated.

We finished breakfast and everyone went to do their respective tasks. I'd missed the tour that Kawamura-san gave us while we were setting the cameras, so I hadn't seen the rest of the rooms of the manor. I was impressed, and I was sure that , if I was left alone in there, I'd surely get lost.

"Mai…if your back hurts, say it ok? Don't push yourself too much" Rei said kindly.

"Oh…it's ok. It felt a little earlier, but I'm already getting used to it…" I smiled "Where are we going?"

"Uhm…you dreamt of a shrine…" Bou-san said " According to what Kawamura-san showed us yesterday…there are two shrines in this Mansion: The moon shrine which is by the middle of the Mansion and the Narukami Shrine which is in the west side of the house. We'll check on both and you'll tell us which one was the one you visited last night…"

"Oh…hey, I wonder…why would the manor itself have a shrine inside?" I asked " The shrines are supposed to be located out of the main building, no?"

"Indeed…I did find it weird , too…" Lin-san said " We questioned Kawamura-san about it, too, but he didn't know either…"

"I wonder…perhaps it has to do with the rumors behind the Himuro legend…" Rei said thoughtful "If they were practicing dark rituals, they would probably keep a shrine in the grounds "

"The dark ritual thing, again" I said " Have you found what it was about?"

"Kei is finishing with the archives. Since it's a familiar text, it was written in a way that only an Abe would understand. That's why we couldn't give it to Yasuhara-kun…we've been taking turns to translate it; we're almost done…so we'll probably figure it out by today"

"Why would you write it like that?" I asked curiously.

"Well… those text keep information about many things concerning the Abe Clan; things that might become dangerous if they're not well applied…so they were written that way to avoid its use by the wrong hands. Even between the family members, no everyone is taught how to read them…"

"Now…isn't that a bit paranoid?" Bou-san asked.

"Well…who knows?" smiled Rei "That's the thing with millenary lineages…haha…"

"It's interesting…" Lin-san commented.

"Is it?" she smiled at him.

I was about to comment something about Rei and Lin-san when I stopped in my tracks. My eyes went wide as I saw the same stone stairs from my dream. I remembered the blood sliding down the stairs and the masked figure, and I shuddered.

"Mai?" Aki said softly putting her hand on my shoulder.

"It's here…"I mumbled.

"Narukami Shrine…" Rei said seriously.

"We had some strange readings from this spot last night…" Lin-san commented "The camera didn't catch any images, but there were some audio incidents and a very low temperature lectures…"

"It was here…I saw the masked man killing the other man right there in the middle of the stairs…" I said with a trembling voice.

"Shall we take a look?" suggested Aki.

"Sounds fair…let's be careful though…" Bou-san said "Mai…at any sign of spiritual activity…you hide behind us…"

"Oi…Bou-san…you're making me useless…" I complained " Fine…now, should we go?"

We began to walk up the stairs. Everything was awfully quiet. The only difference from my dream was that it wasn't dark. The trees waved in the same creepy way and there were no birds. We managed to reach the building and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I've been holding all the way up.

"No ghosts until now…" I laughed happily.

"Better don't say a word, Mai, it's bad luck…"Bou-san mocked " We all know how much misfortune you can bring…"

"Oi…Bou-san…That's mean!"

Aki walked to the door and pushed it open. The shrine was so small, it was only a square room. The left wall was covered by an enormous mirror and at the end of the room there was an altar with a strange board. There were four statues lined up at the feet of the altar. They were strange, and it kind of felt familiar.

"What's this thing?" Bou-san said checking the statues " What the…?"

"What's wrong, Takigawa-san?" Lin-san asked.

"These…Buddha statues….are mutilated…" Bou-san replied with shocked voice.

"What?" Rei and I said.

We came closer to see them. Bou-san was right, the statues were mutilated: the two in the left had their left arm and leg missing; while the two at the right, had the right leg and arm missing.

"What's that supposed to mean?"I said.

"I've no idea…but seems like there's one statue missing…" Aki commented pointing at the empty space in the middle.

"I wonder where it is?" Rei said grabbing her chin.

Then it hit me. I knew why I'd thought those statues looked familiar. The man of my dream was holding one of them he'd been killed by the Masked Man. Perhaps…he was trying to reach the shrine so badly, because he wanted to bring the statue.

"I think know where it is!" I said running to the stairs. Bou-san and Lin-san rushed behind me.

I knew it was stupid, but what if the statue really was there? I stopped at the middle of the stairs and began searching around in the grass until my hand touched something hard that was completely covered by weed. I pulled it out and looked at it.

I'd been right. It was one of those statues, and this one had its head missing.

"Mai! What did I tell you? Don't run….away like that" Bou-san said dropping his jaw as he saw me holding the statue " How the hell…?"

"Taniyama-san?" Lin-san said quizzically.

"I saw the man of my dream drop it in my dream…" I explained shyly. " I think he wanted to bring it to the shrine…"

"Well, let's head back then…" Bou-san said rubbing his head trying to recover from the shock.

I nodded as we returned to the shrine. Aki and Rei had been looking around the room, but they hadn't found anything weird. They, too, seemed shocked when we entered with the statue, but they surely guessed what had happened and did not ask.

I put the statue in the empty space and waited for something to happen, but nothing. I kind of sighed in disappointment.

"Well…what did you expect?" Smiled Rei "Though…the fact that the statues are mutilated is kind off disturbing…"

"Could it mean something, maybe?" Aki suggested.

"Probably, but…. What?" Rei said with her Naru thinking pose.

I sighed and looked at the statues. They had to mean something. Why else would they be there? Besides…the man wanted to get it here, so badly… one with a missing head, two with opposite missing arms and legs…what could that mean? Oh if Naru was here he would probably would have figured it out…stupid narcissistic genius…

_Put them in the panel…in the order of missing limbs_

I gave a jump as I looked around. Who had said that? My friends were too busy guessing about the statues, and they hadn't noticed that I'd jumped and turned pale. Had it been a ghost?

"Put them in the panel…in the order of missing limbs…" I muttered to myself as I looked at the gridded square board in front of the altar. It had been divided in twelve smaller squares. That was it….if I drew a body on the panel….then the head would coincide with the upper middle square, the left and right arms to the first and third squares from the second line and finally the right and left legs would be in the first and third squares from the last line.

The voice had said to put them in the order of the missing limbs; then the headless statue should go where the head was supposed to go, and each arm and each leg on its respective points. I smiled….

'Well done, Mai! See you're not an idiot…if only Naru was here to see me…haha' I thought as I picked the statue and began to fix them in to their respective spots. I waited a moment and then I heard soft "Click!".

"Mai…what the hell? What did you do?" Bou-san said impressed.

"You solved the puzzle…" Rei said smilling " Well done, Mai…!"

"Noll would be impressed…" Lin-san smiled.

"Haha…well, Lin-san…make sure you tell him I did it on my own" I said smiling. Well it wasn't entirely true since I think a ghost had helped me, but he didn't need to know, did he?

"Look…the altar has opened…." Aki said interrupting my thoughts. I raised my look and found that the small altar was open, and inside the small dark compartment there was something silver and brilliant.

_Grab it…._

I stretched my hand a before any of my friends could stop me; my hand was inside of the altar and holding the thing.

"See…it's nothing to worry" I said to them.

I shouldn't have said it out loud. Out of sudden I felt something pull my arm deeper into the altar making my back protest in pain. My arm was completely inside of the altar. How? I didn't know….since the compartment wasn't that deep!

I let out a scream of panic and pain, as I couldn't release my arm from that cold grip. I could feel the place getting colder as Lin-san and Bou-san tried to pull my arm out of the altar.

"IT'S MINEE!" A low voice shouted, making all of us froze.

**Thank you for reading. I hope you've liked it! **


	28. Chapter 28

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Another chapter. I just get to exited about writing this parts and literally I can't stop!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#8**

"Ahhhhh" I cried in panic " Bou-san! Lin-san! Help me…"

"Damn it! What's this?" Bou-san cursed " Lin…can't your shiki do something?"

"Something is repelling them… I can't reach the source" Lin-san said panting.

"Takigawa-san ! Lin-san!" Rei said firmly " Move…"

"What? " Bou-san said. I heard him gasp and his grip loosened, until he let go.

"_On basara bajirihora mandamanda unhatta on sarasara bazaraharakyara unhatta on basara uginiya kyara shaya sowaka " _

I was suddenly released and pushed back by an invisible force. When I raised my look, I saw a gray arm holding mine. The ghost's grip had weakened, but he still didn't let go. Suddenly there was a gaze, Aki had sliced the ghost arm with a clear cut from her katana.

I heard the ghost cry in pain, and then a quick shadow came out from the altar, and flew out of the shrine. Rei and Aki followed immediately after, while Bou-san rushed to check on me.

"Mai! Are you ok, are you hurt?" Bou-san asked shaking me.

"I…I'm fine, Bou-san, the ghost!" I replied shaking my head.

The Monk sighed in relief.

"Takigawa-san…you take care of Taniyama-san" Lin-san said before running out of the shrine as well. I heard a loud whistle and I knew that Lin-san had summoned his shiki to fight.

"_On abiraunkyan sharakutan"_

We could hear Rei's spells, Aki's sword pinging sound and also the soft whistle that Lin-san used to command his shiki.

Bou-san had began chanting a Mantra for protection. He was sitting cross legged in the entrance, with his eyes shout as if he was meditating.

I'd recovered my breath and my heart was starting to recover itself. I looked around me and saw something silver lying on the ground. It was…

"A broken mirror" I said softly as I got closer to it.

It was a shard from a broken mirror. I could see my face reflected on it. Was this what the ghost from my dream had been looking for? He went through so much pain just for a piece of mirror….?

I picked up the shard and as soon as my fingers brushed the flat surface, an intense pain hit me. Everything around me became blurry and white. A bunch of messy images began bomb my head: a girl with black hair covering her eyes and a white kimono, the masked man holding his katana, the girl being tied by her limbs, the sound of ropes being pulled, a young man, a small round mirror getting shattered…

I let out a soft scream of pain and then all images disappeared as I fell unconscious on the floor.

_I opened my eyes. My eyes were blurry…but I realized I was lying in an unknown room. The surface I was lying on was hard and uncomfortable. Was it the floor? My head was pounding so badly…I tried to touch my forehead, but I realized that I couldn't move. _

_My arms and legs were tied with thick ropes. My heart began pounding harder. Where was I? I stared around in panic, I saw five people wearing some weird costumes and masks. I recognized one, the tallest wearing a yellow kimono, he was holding a rope on his hands. The five people were muttering something that I couldn't understand, suddenly the masked man looked at me, and I felt so scared. _

_He walked to me with the rope stretched. I wanted to scream when he tied the rope around my neck, but for some reason, I'd lost my voice…_

_I saw how the five people positioned themselves in some wheel like things, and they began to move them. To my horror, as they moved the wheels, I could feel the ropes begin to tighten. My arms began to be stretched so painfully that I felt as if they were being ripped from my body, the rope on my neck was beginning to choke me and I felt my knew being stretched, too._

_If it kept going like this….then my body would…._

_I felt my tears begin to fall and screamed soundlessly…_

"MAI"

I jumped up panting, and automatically I put my hands on my neck. I was back in the base, lying on my futon. Naru and Bou-san were looking at me; Aki was bandaging Rei's head and Ayako was tending Lin-san who had his shirt ripped by his left shoulder and stained with blood, with the help of Hikaru. Yasuhara , John and Kei were sitting in the corner, surrounded by piles of papers.

"Mai…" Bou-san said sweetly " Are you ok?"

My eyes filled with tears, I hugged him and cried on his chest. He just patted my head clumsily. I was grateful that Naru didn't try to make me tell him what I'd seen. I knew I'd have to tell him sooner or later, but right now, the fear and the pain were too fresh in my memory, and telling it would be impossible for me.

It took me some minutes calm down. I had let go of Bou-san, and stopped sobbing, but the tears wouldn't stop coming out. Suddenly, I saw a white handkerchief in front of my face.

"Take it…" Naru said bluntly. Even though he was good at hiding it, I knew he was concerned about me.

I thank him and used the handkerchief to clean my tears. It smelled just like him…but I shook my head. It wasn't the time to think stupid things like that.

"Naru…I had a dream" I said weakly.

"I supposed it…." He said " Want to tell us?"

I nodded, and began to tell them what happened in the shrine after I touched the mirror, and what I saw in my dream. When I finished the tale, I found myself sobbing once again. Rei sat next to me and began rubbing my back sweetly.

"W-what happened to you…?" I managed to ask.

"Well…we exorcised the ghost if that's what you wanted to know. I was hard, the guy turned a little violent. He threw my against a tree and almost rips Lin-san's arm, but we got rid of him…" Rei said.

"Judging by his looks…he was the spirit you saw being killed last night " Aki said " the camera by the stairs caught our exorcism, so we managed to identify him: Takamine Junsei…"

"The…novelist who got spirited away?" I asked.

"Well…we know what happened to him now" Bou-san said coldly.

"Uhg…The mirror! Where is it?" I asked. Somehow…I felt that it was important for this case.

"Kei has it. He's trying to see if it's cursed…" Rei said.

"Something bothers me…" Bou-san said " Those mutilated statues, Mai-chan's dream and the victim found mutilated…what is that suppose to mean?"

"We'll tell you what it means…" Yasuhara interrupted " It's a ritual…"

**Hope you liked it n.n  
**


	29. Chapter 29

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**All right here's the explanation chapter. Not much action but some explaining about the case. I know it's boring but it has to be….**

**Hey guys, I wonder if you believe in ghosts? We are in the ghost month…so I was wondering if you've ever had ghost experiences yourself? Only a random question…ahead with the chapter**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#9**

"A ritual?" Naru said raising his eye brow " Explain…" he added putting the black notebook on the table.

"Ehem…" Yasuhara said solemnly "We've figured out the identity of the ghost that attacked Mai in her dreams: he's Himuro Ashitaka, o better known as Lord Himuro."

"Great so he's the culprit of the haunting…" Ayako said.

"Most likely, though as Hikaru-chan said before, there many other ghosts trapped in this mansion. According to this notes that I found in the mansions archives…the Himuro household believed that a great darkness existed beneath the mansion, so in order to contain the so called darkness, they would perform a nasty ritual…"

"Yeah…and what was that ritual about?" asked Bou-san.

"Tadadah…I give the floor to my dear friend, Kei, to explain this matter further…"Yasuhara said making a dramatic gesture and Naru raised his eyebrow.

"Well…thank you, Yasu…"Kei said clearing his throat" The ritual needed of two shrine maidens that were meant to be sacrificed. The first maiden was the Blinded, and the second was the Rope Maiden. The ritual itself was divided in three: the first one being the Demon Tag Ritual…"

"Demon tag? Hey, isn't that a children's game?" Asked Ayako.

"Oh, it is…" I said " I played it when I was little. A child would have his or her eyes covered with a cloth, and he/she was supposed to be the Oni and so he/she had to catch the rest of the players….right?"

"Yes…that's it, Mai. Just as she said…the Demon Tag Ritual was like any demon tag game, only that involved girls from the Himuro Household, there was an On: the Blinded Maiden…"

"Was she an itako or something like that? I mean…if she was blind and all…" Bou-san asked.  
"Not exactly…she was blind, but not for natural means…" Kei said passing some pages in an old looking book. He stopped and then turned the book to show us. There was brush painting picture of a girl with bloodied eyes and something that looked like a mask with stakes in on its eyes.

"Oh, god….don't tell me…"I said horrified.

"Yes. The Oni was supposed to catch the girls one by one. The first girl to be caught would be the next Blinded Maiden, since she was meant to have the weakest spiritual power and wasn't able to hide from the Oni; just like that…the last girl to be caught, was supposed to be the strongest spiritualist, and so she was made into the Rope Maiden…"

"What else?" Naru asked.

"Well as I assume you already got the idea of what happens in the Blinding ritual, I won't explain it….so I'll explain the Strangling Ritual, instead…" Kei said passing some more pages " The Rope Maiden was kept apart from the rest of the world until her time to perform the ritual arrived. The Rope Maiden was taken to the rope room an tied by her limbs, while Lord Himuro and other four priestess moved the wheels…"

The images of my dream came into my mind. I brought my hands to my neck and my breath became heavier as I listened to Kei.

"…Once her limbs were severed…the ropes would get stained with blood. That rope was then used to close the Hell Gate…"Kei flipped another page " In 1837…the ritual was meant to be performed, but for some reason; Lord Himuro was convinced that the ritual had failed. He lost his mind and murdered the entire household with his Katana…" He saw me tremble with blank eyes and he kindly passed his arm around my shoulder in a comforting way. I thanked him with a look.

"How did your familiars manage to found that much information?" Naru asked glaring at us.

"Oh…Our family has their means…" Rei said smilling "But that's something you'll have to figure in some other time…We're not telling you, Shibuya-san" she added in playful manner.

Naru wasn't very happy with the answer, but he didn't ask further. I could tell Naru was really annoyed and for a strange reason everyone in the room was trying no to laugh. I wonder what the joke was…I mean; we were talking about something serious.

"So…our ghost is Lord Himuro… for sure?" John asked.

"Yes, Lord Himuro and his victims…" Aki replied.

"Here's my theory…" Kei said " Lord Himuro went insane after the last ritual supposedly failed; he killed everyone in the manor and then suicide in the Great Hall…yes, that's were Mai saw the bloody arm, maybe Lord reliving his darkest hour, who knows. Anyway…he's tried to perform the ritual again with anyone who entered the mansion later on. That would explain why Kawamura's daughter was attacked and the other girl was found mutilated, and also the Munakata's disappearance and the many spirited away cases around this zone; and since the ritual keeps failing, the spirits in here keep repeating that tragedy over and over…in an endless night…"

"UH…." Hikaru nodded " I believe you're right…those poor spirits are trapped in time. Something must be keeping them from moving on…"

"Perhaps…who knows…."

"What about the mirror shard we found?" I asked.

"Oh…well asked, Mai-chan" Yasuhara said " That shard you found seems to be a piece of a legendary mirror called The Holy Mirror of the Five Gods…(1). We don't know for sure it's meaning…but we suspect that it had something to do with the supposed failure in the ritual…"

"Uh….."

"Anyway…we need to release those poor souls " Hikaru said "They're being tortured every night…as if dying once in such a horrible way wasn't already enough…"

I bit my lip thinking. What Hikaru said was right; I'd had the chance to experience the death from the spirits in previous cases. It wasn't a pleasant experience, and I surely didn't want to go through it ever again…now, having to experience their deaths every single night? It wasn't surprising that their souls were so angry.

"Then there's only one option…we need to exorcise the mansion completely, and then get rid of Lord Himuro…" Naru said.

"What? You don't mean the whole mansion, do you? Those could be…around a hundred ghost" Bou-san cried.

"Count it as 99…" Rei laughed "We already got rid of Takamine…"

"And you almost got killed by it, klutz…" Kei said sitting next to his sister "Honestly…mother won't be happy to know that a mere wandering ghost got you hurt…how are you exorcising the big one then?"

"Well… To begin with, this is nothing…only a scratch, second, yes I admit it I was careless…it won't be happening again…"Rei said annoyed.

"Regretful…those days out of action had really rusted you…" Kei teased shaking his head.

"Rusted, your ass!" Rei said angrily "If I'm that rusted why don't you do exorcism yourself, you stupid fortune teller!"

"You said it…I'm a fortune teller…haha"

Rei clenched her fist and tried to hit Kei, who evaded it easily.

"Too slow, sis…."

"But the kiddo has a point…" Bou-san said crossing his arms over his chest " Takamine did give us a lot of trouble, how do we expect to exorcise it?"

"Besides…if we have to exorcise the rest of the spirits first…won't we be too tired to fight Lord Himuro?" John asked.

"We need to consider that, too…" Naru said grabbing his chin. " If it's a matter of numbers, I believe Matsuzaki-san may be the most indicated to handle this…"

"Eh? Me?" Ayako said surprised pointing at herself.

"Yes, your ability to purify the spirits with the aid of the trees, is pretty efficient when it comes a large amount of spirits."

"Well…I guess you have a point, but with so many corrupted spirits, I might need many trees and preferable on sacred ground…" Ayako commented.

"Narukami Shrine has already been cleaned up " Lin-san said typing in his laptop " After exorcising Takamine spirits, I don't believe there's any other in there…"

"But wait…what if it happens like in the Fudo Manor?" I said terrified. What if Lord Himuro's spirit appeared and hurt Ayako?

"Indeed…if the spirits are purified, we can expect a hostile reaction from the Lord's spirit…" Naru thought " If that's the case…Matsuzaki-san's safety might be in risk. We must think of way to protect Matsuzaki-san…"

"I think we may be able to keep him busy…" Rei said looking at Kei who nodded.

"Can I ask how will you do that?" I said puzzled.

"Spirits are easy to fool…" Kei said.

"Our little Lord won't be able to harm Matsuzaki-san if he can't find the real one" Rei replied.

"Leave the matter to us"

"Very well… I'll leave Matsuzaki's protection in your hands. In the time being…we need to find a way to exorcise the lord. I simple exorcise may not work. Matsuzaki-san, please get ready for your exorcism…the rest of you stay alert."

"Hai" we all answered.

"Mai…"

"Yes?"

"Tea…"

**Another chapter finished. This case keeps my typing as much as Lin…haha!**

**Anyway… I hope you liked this chapter, I know it was probably boring since there was a lot of talking and not much action.**

**(1) I changed the Mirrors name a little. Don't mind about it…**


	30. Chapter 30

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Thanks to Ariana Taniyama and her reviews. You are somehow****clairvoyant haha…**

**Also...thanks to all the followers, and other reviewers. I appreciated your support and I hope you're not getting bored from this case, since it's turned longer than i expected.**

**Here's another chapter. I think this is the longest dream Mai has ever had, and may be the worst for her…poor thing…**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor #10**

"_Mai…"_

_I opened my eyes. I was lying in a dark corridor. It was weird, because this corridor was actually falling apart. I didn't remember any of the manors corridors in this state. I got up puzzled._

"_Mai…"someone said behind me. I felt a hand fall gently on my shoulder._

"_Gene!" I said relieved as I hugged him "Thanks to goodness…I was afraid that ghost had done something awful to you"_

"_I'm ok, Mai…" Gene smiled " He won't hurt me, because I'm also a spirit, and I didn't die by his hands…"_

"_That's good…aw…" I sighed "That's right…Gene, where are we?"_

"_Uh…this is a hidden corridor…"Gene explained "Come with me, Mai…"_

"_Where are we going?"_

_Gene looked at me worried, but he didn't reply. We walked together until we reached a square room with stairs. The walls looked as if they had been made of stone. We walked down the stairs and reached a small hall, there was strange 'monument', if you can call it that, in the middle of the hall, but Gene didn't pay any attention to it, he walked straight to the door pass it. It was slightly open and I could see a path of crumbled torii gates over the path._

"_What is this place?"I asked as we walked across the paths. I saw many old paper charms pasted on the torii gates. This place made me feel really nervous._

_Gene did not answer. He had suddenly stopped. I looked in front of me and I saw a tall open door. There was black rope in front of it and more spells scattered around. _

_I turned to Gene to ask him once more what this place was and found him pointing at something. I looked down and my eyes snapped wide open… It was a broken mirror, but it was missing a piece. I recognized it immediately, the shards looked exactly the same as the one I'd found in the shrine._

"_The Holy Mirror…" Gene said._

_I walked to it and knelt to look at it. I saw my distorted face reflected in the broken pieces._

"_Ne…Gene…why is it here?"_

"_It's a curse…" a soft voice said in my head. I gave a jump and turned around. There was a girl standing by the open door. She was wearing a white kimono with golden flowers pattern and a golden obi. Her black enclosed her face cutely._

"_You….you were the voice that talked to me in the shrine, weren't you? Who are you?" I asked._

_The girl shook her head. _

"_Who I am is not important…" she replied " Please….make it stop. Stop _me…"

"_What? What do you mean with stop me? Ne Gene…what's she…?"_

_I turned around looking for my blue eyed spirit guide and found him nowhere to be had never left in the middle of a dream, and unconsciously…my heart began to race._

"_We need to hurry…"the girl said._

"_Don't worry. My friend Ayako will exorcise the spirits, and we'll exorcise Lord Himuro soon after…you will move on soon…" I said comfortingly._

"_No… that won't stop it…"_

"_What?" I said puzzled " But…Lord Himuro is the culprit of the hauntings…why do you say it won't stop it?"_

"_No…he's not the one…you need to stop _me_…."_

"_You?"_

"_Use the mirror…" the girl said pointing at the broken mirror on the floor " Complete it…and break the curse…before it's too late…we can't forget _our _duty anymore…please, make it stop…"_

"_What?" before I could ask her anything else, the girl had vanished._

'_Great…no I'm alone in this creepy place' I thought as I rubbed my arms. Why was it suddenly so cold…? Wait…Cold? Oh, no…was it the Lord's spirit going to appear and kill me? Wake up, Mai….wake up before it's too late…._

_I grabbed my head and shook it strongly. Gene…where are you when I need you the most?_

_I don't want to die…_

_My heart froze when I heard that voice whispering. I raised my look, staring directly at the open door. The darkness inside it made it impossible to see anything in there. Suddenly, I stepped back horrified… A woman with long black hair and a white kimono stained in blood began to come out form the darkness. It was almost as if the darkness behind her was some kind of mass. Her head came out first and then her arms and feet. I could see ropes tied to her neck, wrists and ankles…but it wasn't that what shocked me the most…In her back, there were these awful creatures! It was almost as if they had grown on her back, and they kept moving in a way that made me get chills._

_I stepped back trying to get farther from her. I couldn't see her face, since it was covered by her black hair, but I felt really scared. She kept getting close to me, and I kept running away from her. Suddenly, my back hit the rocky wall...it was a death end. I had nowhere to run…_

_I'll make you feel my pain…._

_The woman drew her hand to grab mine and I screamed. Everything went blurry…there were new images in front of me, but they looked as some kind of very old movie. _

_There she was, the ghost of the girl, but she was wearing a clean kimono and her face wasn't covered. She was standing under a cherry tree in full bloom. Suddenly a young man walked to her side and she smiled. He was good looking, not as much as Naru, though…they seemed to talk and the girl laughed. A while later a group of men with priest clothes came by. I saw the girls face grew gloomy as she was taken away from the man…and then the man talking tone of the priest. Out of sudden, the priest took out a knife and sank it on the man's back, many times until his clothes were completely stained in blood. The priest threw the knife and he began to drag the man's body into another place, a pond, I recognized it. It was one of the mansion's gardens. He tied some stones to the body and threw it into the water…_

_The image then changed, no I was standing in a dark room. The girl was lying on a table like bed with her arms and legs tied with a thick rope. I knew this scene….it was the scene of my dream. I saw the landlord putting the rope around her neck and began to pull the rope with the wheels. The girl screamed in pain and writhe in pain…I covered my eyes before I could see her limbs being pulled apart. I could feel the tears beginning to form on my eyes. I took a deep breath and raised my look once again. I was back in front of the tall door, but this time it was closed. The mirror was infront of the door and it wasn't broken. _

_The landlord walked to the door holding some black ropes that were leaking blood. He tied it in front of the wooden door and raised his arms into the air. Suddenly, it was as if time had frozen. There was a loud crack as the mirror broke up and the doors flew wide open. I strong wind began blow out from the door, I could see spirit orbs flying out, too. The priests began to panic and the landlord grabbed his head a shook it in desesperation._

_He began to laugh….it was a cold laugh that made my heart stop. He pulled out the katana from his side and began to kill all the present people one by one, slicing their heads…I covered my mouth and closed my eyes. Begging for it to stop….when I opened them again, my heart sank to my feet… The lord's demonic mask was in front of my face, and his sword was raised over my head ready to hit me; and then I did the only reasonable thing that came into my mind….I screamed …_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" I screamed with all the strength of my lungs as I snapped up from the table. Everyone looked at me confused.

The tears were still running down my cheeks and the awful deaths kept repeating themselves in my mind. Ayako, who was wearing her Miko outfit rushed to my side. She wiped off my tears and looked at me worried.

"Mai…" Naru said staring at my face. I hadn't noticed when he had gotten to my side.

"NARU!" I cried "Lord Himuro isn't the only one!"

"What?"

"He isn't the only vengeful spirit in the house!"

With those words the tears began to fall. I noticed a pain around my wrist, ankles and my neck and saw in horror the bruises forming around them; bruises that almost looked like…ropes? I hugged Ayako and broke down. I began to sob hysterically as everyone in the room fell into a deep silence.

**An there was another chapter.I don't know if I made it scary or not…I just wrote like that :/. That's up to you to decide.**

**Kirie made her appearance , and SPR was already having troubles about exorcising Lord Himuro, only to find out that he might not be tough one they need to defeat…poor things. Mai may be the only one to realize how to cleanse Kirie…or not? **


	31. Chapter 31

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Here's another chapter. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor #11**

It took me a while to recover from the shock. I felt a little calmer now that I was there, sitting in base surrounded by my friends. Somehow it made me feel safer. No one had seemed to notice the faint bruises on my limbs. I couldn't blame them, when I'd panicked earlier, the bruises were literally almost black, but soon after they began to vanish until they were only a faint shade. In the middle of my sobs and my frenetic struggles, I wasn't surprised that no one had paid attention to them.

"Here… the tea will make you good…"John said gently putting steaming cup of tea in front of me. I thanked him and took it, but did not drink it. I still remembered the blood in my dream, and the only memory made me feel sick.

I had told them that I had seen another ghost, and that this ghost seemed stronger than Lord Himuro, but I hadn't given them more details of the dream, and thankfully, Naru did not insist.

"Shibuya-san….what are we going to do?" John asked.

Naru grabbed his chin. He seemed lost in thought.

"Oi, Naru…" Bou-san said "This exorcism might be impossible! Even if we managed to exorcise Lord Himuro's spirit, there's still the other spirit. We're humans, Naru, we can't really do two exorcises from this scale in a row!"

"You might be right, Takigawa-san. If that's the case, the smartest decision would be to leave and tell Kawamura-san to burn this place down, with all its ghosts…"

Bou-san nodded in approval, and I felt Ayako's hand tighten on my shoulder, and smiled at me. I was supposed to feel relieved, but then…why wasn't I feeling any better?

"No…" Kei said making everyone freeze.

The whole room looked at him as if he was insane. Even Lin-san stared at him with his eyebrow raised.

"C'mon, Kiddo…there's nothing else we can do in here. If it's because of your mother…" Bou-san said.

"She might be a scary woman, but I believe she'll understand if her children's life is in danger…" John added smilling gently.

"No…it's not that"

"Then…is it about your family's name?" Ayako snapped " C'mon, boy…reputation isn't everything"

"You're all wrong" Kei said clenching his fists. Rei shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder "It's not about our mother, or about reputation… we're not leaving a friend behind"

Everyone was silent. I looked at him and found him staring at me with concerned eyes. Then I understood, as I unconsciously grabbed my wrist, I wouldn't be able to leave the mansion with them, and they weren't leaving me behind.

"What are you talking about? We'll leave…_together_ "Bou-san said rubbing his head.

"Not all of us…"Aki sighed. She walked at me and gently grabbed my hands to the light allowing everyone to see the faint rope bruises on my wrists. " Mai has been marked by the ghost…She's been marked to die…"

Everyone in the room gasped. I could see Bou-san looking at me wide eyed and Naru's eyes spark in concern.

"You may all leave, Shibuya-san…" Rei said " but we're not moving. We rather die than abandon a mate…"

Naru seemed to think it over, and he sighed.

"Matsuzaki-san…"

"Yes?"

"Get ready for your ceremony. Kei-san and Rei-san, I expect your plan to protect Matsuzaki-san is ready…"

"Well of course…" Kei said.

"Very well…" Naru said " Takigawa-san and Sasaki-san, you'll remain with Matsuzaki-san until the spirits have been purified. Kei-san and Rei-san will keep Lord Himuro's spirit away from you and if the case warrants it, you may also need to confront the other ghost. I don't expect you to exorcise them, but at least keeping them busy enough until the rest of spirits have been purified. Can you handle it by yourselves?"

"You forget who we are…" Rei smiled "We can handle them…"

"The rest of us will remain in base….and tried to think of a plan to exorcise the remaining souls…"

Everyone nodded.

_The mirror…._

That voice! It was the little kimono girl again, wasn't it? The mirror….yes she had said that the mirror may be able to stop her, even Gene had hinted it. That could be our only hope…

"Naru!" I cried out.

"What's it, Mai?"

"I think…I know how we can exorcise them…"

Everyone looked at me curiously, even Naru seemed perplexed.

"Explain…"

"In my dream…I…I met this girl, she kept saying 'stop me' and she pointed at the other shards of the mirror…I think…that if we can reunite all the pieces…then the spirits will be exorcised!"

"A mirror?" Naru said frowning.

"Ooooh….you mean the Holy Mirror of the Five Gods?" Yasuhara said " Ohhh…maybe, Mai-chan is right! I think…I read somewhere that the mirror had the power to purify anything it reflects!"

"Yasuhara-san….Start searching everything about that mirror…"

"Right away, boss…."

"But we only have a piece of the mirror…" John said "How are we finding the rest?"

"They're five pieces…" I said "There are four already in the underground room I saw in my dream. If we can…get there…we may have the five pieces…"

"Excellent…Mai…do you know how to get there?"

There was an embarrassing silence. Everyone had their eyes fixed on me. I blushed and shook my head, while the others slapped their foreheads.

"…Idiot…" I heard Naru mutter.

"I invite you to cautiously come down onto the earth, white light enshrining the spirit..." Ayako was standing in front of the shrine she was holding a sakaki**(1)** branch with a golden bell; behind her, Bou-san and Aki were sitting on the shrine stairs looking at her. They had accommodated one of the cameras so that it'd catch whatever that happened around.

I was staying in base with the remaining team. Everyone was looking the screens, with concern. Suddenly, I heard everyone gasp, and I snapped my eyes wide open. In another seven screens was Ayako: there was an Ayako in the great Hall, another in the hallway, one more by the foyer, there was a sitting Ayako in the dolls room, one pacing around the cherry atrium…all of them wearing the miko outfit and starting to chat.

"What the…?!" I cried out.

"Shibuya-san….what's that?" John asked.

"Don't worry…your eyes are not making fun of you." Kei smiled looking at our shocked faces.

"Those are paper dolls…" Lin-san explained " They're similar to hitogatas…but, they function a little different. Properly casted, it can take the form of a person and function as replacement for them…"

"Replacements?" I asked looking how one of the Ayakos was complaining in front of the camera "so… those are, Ayako, too."

"Yes…the ghost won't be able to tell which is the real, so Matsuzaki-san will be safe. Unfortunately, only the purification performed by the real one will work…" Rei commented "Otherwise it would be very practical, won't it?"

"Sure!" I smiled, but my smile soon faded.

The smell of blood filled the room making me seek; the lights began to fickler, there were awful rapping sounds and I could feel the floor trembling under my feet.

"Noll!" Lin-san snapped pointing at the screen.

I felt like I would cry when I saw the spirit of the landlord walking through one of the hallways: a bloodied katana in one hand and something that seemed like a head in another…

"The Ghost has reacted…" Naru said seriously "it means, Matsuzaki-san's purification succeeded. Kei-san, Rei-san…"

The twins nodded and both of them raised their hands over their heads. A yellow paper spell, with the shape of a doll, was tightly gripped between their fingers. They brought the spell over their lips and whispered something that I didn't get. The charms vanished, and both of them smiled at Naru.

"We're leaving now…" Kei said.

"Don't get yourselves into trouble while we're out…"

"Where are you going?" I asked terrified.

"To fulfill our part of the plan: we're getting rid of the sucky spirit once for all…"

"Yeah, no one messes up with our Mai's mental health….Not even a ghost…" Kei added.

"But…"

"Don't worry, Mai…" Rei winked at me "We're pros…"

"Yeah…it's time that you see the Abe duo in action…" smiled Kei " Leave it to us. Shibuya-san…you focus on finding a way to exorcise the other spirit…"

"Very well…"

Kei and Rei smiled and they ran out of the room. My face dropped in worry…I didn't want them to be hurt by _him. _ Someone's hand was over my, shoulder and I was s surprised to find Lin-san smiling lightly at me.

"They'll be fine…"

I smiled back at him, thanking him for his comfort.

"Good, let's trust those two…" Naru nodded " Lin, contact Bou-san and the others, tell them to come back to base. "

Lin-san nodded, but before he reached to the microphone, a loud bang over the table made us all jump.

"A haha!" Yasuhara snapped triumphantly "I found it! The legend of the Holy Mirror!"

**(1)Sakaki is a type of japanese cypress that is cataloged as sacred tree for the shinto. I'm not sure if Ayako actually used it…but anyway.**


	32. Chapter 32

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Ok, I found the exorcism description extremely hard to do. I hope it turned out ok. And you manage to understand it. Enjoy your read  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#12**

"How was that again?" John asked.

"The legend of the Holy Mirror" Yasuhara said waving a green old notebook in front of our faces "It's all written in here… It's Munakata Ryozo's diary…"

"You're amazing, Yasuhara-kun…" Hikaru said smiling.

"I am, ain't I?" Yasuhara smiled proudly.

"Yasuhara-san…"Naru interrupted visibly annoyed "Quit wasting your time and speak…"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry , boss…" Yasuhara cleared his throat "The holy mirror was folk story from around this house hold. According to it there were five shrines around the mansion. Each of them enshrined one of the sacred gods. Munakata described in his notes that each of the shrines once held a great mirror. Those five mirrors were meant to form a sacred barrier that gave power to a sixth mirror, which was meant to subdue the great evil trapped beyond the 'Hell Gate'. The power of each god was supposed to be channeled through each of the respective mirrors, and then redirected to the sixth mirror located inside mansion, right in front of the so called 'Hell Gate'. The mirror, would reflect the divine power and purify anything that was reflected on it, including any negative energy escaping from the door.

"If it was that important…how's that they left it break down that easily?" Bou-san voices asked.

I found him sitting by my side, next to him was Ayako who looked a little annoyed; Aki, by the other hand was standing close to Lin-san watching the screens. When have they got in here?

Yasuhara pushed up his glasses.

"Oh…I was getting right there. Patience my dear, patience…" He said with a mischievous smile that made Bou-san shudder " In 1837….the ritual to seal the Hell Gate took place. Manakata never mentioned the reason, but it seemed to fail causing the door to break open and whatever it was holding broke free bringing calamity over the inhabitants of the mansion. In the same year, a earthquake took place and destroyed the five shrines. Some years later…Munakata moved into the house with his family. One day, his daughter and friends disappeared; his wife, due to stress, lost her mind and committed suicide. Blaming the house itself for his misfortunes, Munakata wanted to find a way to stop the curse over this house, and he figured that the only way to do so…was finding the five mirror shards and place the mirror when it was supposed to be from the very beginning…"

"Well…the ghosts are still here, so he obviously didn't make it, did he?" Ayako said.

"Let Munakata-san himself tell you…ehem…_August 24__th__; I've finally gathered all the pieces from the Holy Mirror, but as suspected…I don't have the power to accomplish this only Yae was still alive... The woman in the white kimono has shown several times to me now. My time is running out. I'm soon to perish between these walls, as many before of me. My soul may be trapped in this house before I die, but I'm not giving up. I'm hiding the pieces in safe points around this manor…when they right person arrives, I'm sure he or she will be able to complete what I couldn't and seal that dammed door for good…"_ Yasuhara read " The rest of this entry are hints of where the pieces where hidden. It was also his last entry, so I presume he died soon after he wrote it. I also checked Takamine-san's notes. He came here to do some research for his next novel along with two assistants who died away one by one. He found the notes written by Munakata and tried to find the mirror shards. HE managed to get four of them, and I believe he was in his way to the fifth one when he died…"  
"That makes sense…" John whispered " Mai-san found that mirror shard in the shrine after seeing him die in her dream…"

"So the four pieces I saw in my dream…"I began "were taken there by Takamine-san…"  
"Most likely, Mai-chan…" nodded Yasuhara " I believe that, since the mirror wasn't complete, the door wasn't purified and so the haunting continues…"

"Then…let's get the final shard and finish it once for all…" I said.

"Idiot…" Naru muttered " How do you expect to do that if you can't tell where that place is?"

I laughed nervously scratching my cheek. Naru grabbed his chin and began to pace around the room.

"A Hell Gate…" he said " May be…it means the the Demon's Door (1)"

I flinched. I knew about the demons door. I'd read it in one of my classes.

"You mean…the door from which the spirits come into this world?" I asked.

"Yes…in this case, the Hell Gate and the Demon's Door might be synonyms. If my assumption is correct, the entrance should be located in the same spot where the Demons Door should be…"

"That would be…the North- east wing " Hikaru said.

"But we went there, and there was nothing like the door that Mai saw " Bou-san said frowning.

"Mmm…" Naru said thinking.

I tried to focus myself and picture the room once more in my mind.

"Oi…the walls were rocky…" I said " Hey could it be…could it be that the door is hidden underground? May be there's a tunel or something like that, like in the Fudo case…"

Everyone looked me as if I had said something incredible.

"Seems like someone has grown some brains…." Naru said smirking " It's possible. We'll wait for Kei-san and Rei-san, once they're back we'll head to the north-east wing and I'll trust your "vision" to find the way down, Momoka-san…"

"Of course, Shibuya-san…" Hikaru nodded.

"Those two are surely taking long…" Ayako commented " Didn't they say the would perform the exorcism in the atrium so that we could see in case our aid was necessary? Nothing has happened there…"

"Unlike you, fake miko, those kids are pros…and as pros we need our time to prepare. Not that you would understand…" Bou-san teased earning a punch on his head.

"You useless monk….! My exorcise did wok, didn't it?"

"Oh…oh…please, this is not time to argue…" John said trying to stop their argument.

I smiled. Suddenly a beautiful sound filled the room or more likely it filled the whole mansion. It pacified everything and made me feel calmer; the air became lighter with each note. The sound even managed to stop Bou-san and Ayako from bickering.

"What's that?" Ayako asked.

"Sounds like a flute, doesn't it?" Bou-san added.

"It sounds beautiful…" John commented.

"It's began…" Aki said " That's Kei's flute…."

"Lin! Turn up the audio…." Naru commanded as everyone moved in front of the screens htat were showing the atrium in many different angles.

Kei was wearing his green onmyoji robes and he was standing under the cherry tree playing his flute with his eyes shut peacefully; Rei wasn't around yet. I wondered how he managed to remain calm when he was just about to face a psychopath ghost. It was the first time that I saw them perform an exorcism together. Usually, Rei would perform the exorcism herself.

Suddenly, the screen got some static. Kei opened his eyes, and I saw his stern and firm expression as he began to play faster. In one of the other screens, the image of Lord Himuro's spirit appeared with his bloody katana and began moving straight to Kei. The male twin kept playing without moving from the spot, he just kept glaring at the spirit.

He was about to reach him when, a light blue blur rushed to the spirit and made it retreat a little. Rei had appeared in her onmyoji robes and she had some paper spells on her hand. The ghost let out a roar of fury, while the twins exchanged meaningful glances.

The ghost raised his katana and ambushed them. Kei stopped playing and jumped away from his spot beneath the tree avoiding a dangerous slash, his shikigami attacked the ghost making him roar in pain.

I covered my ears. His sorrowful growls made me feel sick. Rei ran by the left while Kei went by the other side; both twins surrounding the spirit.

"_Nitay no Seiryu_" Rei said with her two fingers over her lips; she quickly touched the ground and immediately jumped away avoiding another of the ghost's attacks.

"_Wakka no Genbu_…" Kei said repeating his sister's mimic in another spot.

"_As rera no Byakko_"

"_Ape no Suzaku"_

The twins keep doing the same with each word, but in different spot, always surrounding the ghost. They finally reached the same spot and simultaneously (with an incredible synchronization), both patted the ground with their fingers as they firmly said:

"_Nupuri no Koryu….Apate Kikkara_"

A circle of light with five points star surrounded the spirit and made him let out another roar of pain.

"It's the Abe Pentagram Seal(2)" Aki explained "It's one of the strongest spells to bide a spirit. Once the spirit has been bid, there's no way that the spirit will avoid being exorcised."

Everyone let out a gasp of amazement, as they kept watching the screens with wide eyes,

"_On Kirikiribazara Bajirihoramandamanda. On Sarasarabazara Harakya Unhatta On Amiritodo Hanba Unhatta On Bisohoradaraki Shabasarahanjara Unhatta On Asanmagini Unhatta On Shaugyarei Makasanmaen Sowaka "_

The twins skillfully made the gestures with their hands and white light glowed around them. The shiki began to fly around the ghost, he screamed and struggled for a couple of minutes and then everything went calm. The screen showed an empty space with only the twins standing there. They clapped their hands into a praying pose and bowed.

It was done. I knew that Lord Himuro's ghost was now resting in peace.

**(1) Japanese believe that the north-east direction is the entrance of all evil.**

**(2) Well…that description might make you think that is the pentacle from the Satanist. It actually look similar, but in this case the Abe Pentagram doesn't have anything to do with that cult. The five pointed star is meant to symbolize the five elements from Taoist philosophy: Fire, Wood, Earth, Water and Metal. Each of this elements was designated to one of the sacred beast: Koryu the golden dragon ( Earth), Suzaku the vermillion bird(fire), Genbu the black tortoise(water), Byakko the white tiger( metal) and Seiryu the azure dragon (wood). As you can see in the spell Kei and Rei used, the assigned each of the elements to each beast.**


	33. Chapter 33

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Another Chapter. I think the end of this file will be in two or one chapter ahead. Not sure yet, depends if I mange to make it all fit in one update or not. I'm not sure if I'll make an epilogue for this case though Ill what I can do. Enjoy your read n.n**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#13**

We went to search in the north-east wing, just as Naru had planned. After searching a lot, we managed to find a hidden door behind a large wardrobe. We entered into a dark damp tunnel that I found too familiar for my taste. The memories of those horrible murders still haunted my head.

I grabbed Naru's arm in fear. To my surprised, he didn't push me away.

"Mai….What way?" he said bluntly.

"Straight "I replied.

Naru glanced meaningly at Lin-san who was holding the torch. He replied with a nod as they kept walking. Rei was walking by his side, Bou-san, Ayako and John walked surrounding Naru and me. Aki and Kei were walking behind us. Yasuhara and Hikaru had stayed in base.

After quite a calm walk we finally reached the room with the great door. It was just as I had seen it in my dream. The room was awfully quite and cold, and since this was an underground chamber, I couldn't tell whether the coldness was due to a spirit of because of being underground.

"Seems clean by now…but stay cautious. The spirit may pop out in any time…" Naru said sternly.

"Yes!" everyone replied.

"Mai…"

"Uh…the mirror is right there" I said pointing at a small mound right in front of the door.

Rei nodded and headed to it, while the rest peeped around.

"Geez…not surprised that you were that scared after that dream" Bou-san commented " This place gives me creeps…"

"I wonder where the spirit is. It's awfully calm for being the ghost lair…" John said.

"You're right kiddo….this doesn't smell good."

I kept my face against Naru's arm, almost as if I looked, the ghost would be standing in front of me. I didn't want to look, I just wanted to do the exorcism and leave as soon as possible that place.

_Look up_

That voice again. No, that couldn't be good…I raised my face. It was dark, only the light of the torches stood in the dark, but curiously, I could see pretty well in the dark. I noticed Rei kneeling infron of the mound and looking between the debris the rests of the mirror. Her back was facing the door that stood there threateningly still. Suddenly I thought, my heart would stop beating. Right there, in the middle of the darkness from the door, I saw a white hand begin to emerge and draw right into Rei's back. Why nobody else had seen it?

"REI WATCH OUT!" I screamed making everyone jump, especially Naru who was standing by my side.

Rei raised her head and I saw her look at me puzzled. Then there was an awful crack. Rei had been thrown savagely against the stone wall. The loud crack was either one her bones cracking, or the wall behind her cracking.

The temperature dropped instantly. Our breaths were now visible, and my heart was beating so strong that I thought Naru would be able to hear it. He drew his arm in front of me protectively as I watched in horror the woman of my dreams emerging from the door, just in the same way she'd done in my nightmare: little by little. Aki and Lin-san were immediately standing in front of us, the first one with her katana drawn and the second ready to call his shiki when needed. Kei had carefully made his way to his sister, and held her still…

"N_aumaku Sanmanda Bazaradan Kan" _Bou-san Chanted.

"_In the beginning, there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…" _John also began to say his prayer.

"Rin pyo to sha…." Ayako had begun mumbling the Ku-ji.

None of the chants seemed to work. The ghost remained impassive. She barely turned her head at them. The creatures on her back kept moving in a disturbing way and letting out those horrible growls that made my blood freeze. There were two simultaneous whistles. Lin-san's shiki and the shinshou flew against the spirit trying to tearing apart but before they could touch her, they were casted away.

The ghost head leaned on her shoulder slightly making her hardly visible face look at Bou-san and the others. I heard them gasp and begin chanting once again.

Aki made her away to it a began fighting the spirit with her sword. In this circumstance, if the ghost couldn't be exorcised, then the best way was destroying it. Aki managed to entertain the ghost with the other's help while we watched safely from apart.

_They won't make it…_

I flinched. I turned my head slowly and found the girl white the white and gold kimono staring at me from the tunnel's entrance.

"What?" I muttered softly.

_No matter how much they try…._

_They won't beat her like that…._

'Do you know how we can beat her?' I asked her mentally as I watched how Kei had been sent flying as his sister had been a bit earlier.

The girl nodded.

_The mirror…_

_It will only work if _you_ do it, though…._

'Me?' I asked 'why me?'

_Because you understand her…_

'I…understand her?' What was that supposed to mean. I wasn't sacrificed for a stupid ritual…how was I supposed to understand her? Unless….

"She doesn't do it because she was sacrificed…" I said making Naru look at me with his raised eyebrow. "She does it because she feels lonely…"

"Mai…what…?"

Before Naru could react to anything I ran to the mound. I heard someone scream my name but I ignored it. I knew what I had to do now. I knelt in front of the mound, right in the same spot were Rei had been. She had dug out the other four pieces of the mirror and the fifth was half way to its proper position.

I picked it and struggled between the remaining debris to put it in the right place. I hard pain crossed my finger, I had cut myself with shard's edge, but I ignored it. The mirror shard fitted right away, just a puzzle piece. There was soft light, and I saw how the fragments glued together and surface became neat as if it had never been broken.

"MAI!" Someone shouted.

I felt a hard pain in my shoulder, and when I looked I was horrified to find a white hand tied with a rope on it.

"_I'll make you suffer…just as I did…."_

"You're wrong Kyrie….you're wrong. You don't have to be angry…he didn't abandon you. He was killed!" I cried out. Kyrie? How the hell did I know her name.

"_He left…he said he would take me with him, and yet he left…"_

Her grip on my shoulder tightened making me hiss.

"He didn't left because he wanted to_!"_ I said trying to pull out the mirror and ignore the pain that was running down my arm. It felt like it was being ripped away from my body.

"_Liar….liar…." _she said. Her voice sounded choked almost as if she was about to break into tears "_They were all lies!"_

"No! They weren't! Look at it yourself!"

I made an effort to turn around and hold the mirror in front of her face. There was an intense light and then everything went black.


	34. Chapter 34

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**The final chapter; the epilogue is next!**

**Thanks to all the ones how reviewed ! 3  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor#14**

_My body felt damp and numb. It was weird I didn't remember seeing any water around when we'd gotten there. I didn't want to open my eyes, somehow…I felt lazy. My surroundings were completely silent._

_With much effort, I managed to open my eyes. I was lying on a puddle, which explained why my clothes were wet. The room was very dark, but my eyes soon get used to the darkness and I managed to recognize some figures around me. Weird thing was…that it didn't look like the chamber; there was no door to be seen._

"_Naru! Bou-san! Everyone!" I called as I got up. I felt a little dizzy. _

_Weird…there was no reply. Suddenly, a group of white orbs flew pass my side brushing my shoulder lightly. Of course, that explained it all….this was a dream. Well, great job, Mai. You fell slept in the worst time ever, right when a ghost was about to kill you….oh Naru is so not going to like it._

_I looked around. There were many rocks and it really felt damp. Somewhere around, I heard the sound of water running. A river…? Yes, just some steps in front, there was a river and there was someone standing by the shore. I walked there and I froze. It was the ghost! She was standing at the river shore, but she looked different, she was more like the shy girl smiling from my dream; even her clothes were different. She was now wearing the white kimono with golden flowers; the same kimono that the girl who talked in my mind wore. _

_She'd heard my steps and turned to face me. Her face was serene and peaceful. There was even a slight smile on her lips. Immediately after, a man wearing a mossy green kimono and with dark hair appeared by her side and took her hand. Kyrie's lover; both smiled at each other sweetly before turning to me again._

"_You found each other!" I smiled "That's great! You can be together now!"_

_Kyrie nodded, and looked me with apologetic eyes._

" _Hey…don't look so gloom. I know it wasn't your fault. You were confused, and sad. I know how bad it is when someone you love goes away. When it happened to me…I felt like I was going crazy; but it doesn't matter anymore, because now I've found what I lost once more, and so have you…C'mon…you should go now."_

_They smiled and bowed at me._

_Thank you_

_I smiled. The couple turned around and they began to walk into the water holding hands. I saw them get away smiling when I realized that I'd forgotten to ask them how was I suppose to leave this place._

" _Wait! Kyrie!" I called her running after them into the water " Waiiit! Do you know how can I get out of here…?"_

_They were already too far for hearing me and I sighed. Now I was wet, and I had absolutely no idea of where I was and how to get out. Gene…. Where are you when I really need you?_

_Suddenly a gust of wind surrounded me, and I had to cover my eyes with my arm to stop the sand getting into my eyes. When it'd stopped I opened my eyes and found myself standing in the middle of a flower field. There were flowers from all sizes, colors and forms. It was so beautiful and…familiar…_

_I looked around, this place…I used to come here when I was younger. My parents took me here every spring and we had a picnic among these flowers. I couldn't avoid smiling with the memory. May be someday….I'll bring my family here too. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around quickly._

"_Gene….where have you…?" _

_Wrong. It wasn't Gene. It was a woman with a summer dress and a parasol over her head. She had kind eyes, as big as mine but from a lighter color. Her hair was brown, like mine and it was tight in a ponytail over her shoulder. She smiled at me sweetly…and I recognized her immediately._

"_M-mom?"_

_She smiled again and nodded. I could feel the tears building inside me. IT really was my mother…but how? I'd never dreamt with her before._

"_Mom!" I cried out hugging her. I didn't care. IT was my mom " Oh, mom…I'd missed you so badly!"_

_My mother patted my head sweetly. I had missed her warmth and her perfume. This really had to be a dream…but I didn't care._

"_I know sweetie….I know…"she said softly " I missed you too, darling, but you know…you shouldn't be here, not yet…"_

"_What?"_

"_You know, sweetie. They're waiting for you and they are awfully worried…" _

_They….? Who?_

"_They'll be sad if you don't go back soon…"_

_They…That's right! My friends… Bou-san, Ayako, John, Masako, Yasuhara, HIkaru, Rei, Kei…Lin-san…and…. Naru…_

"_But I've so many things I want to tell you…" I said._

_My mom smiled._

"_I know…and I'll love hear them, but that can wait, Mai. I won't be going anywhere…so when the time comes, I'll be waiting here…"she said stroking my hair " Go back to your friends…no, to your family…."_

_I cleaned my tears and smiled at her. She moved just to reveal a small path of stones that went lost between the flowers. I hugged my mother once more before running away without looking back. _

_The last thing I saw, then, was a great light surrounding me…._

I snapped up coughing. There was an intense pain in my chest and a iron flavor in my mouth.

"She's awake!" I heard someone scream.

"Good. We need to take her out of here. This place is about to collapse." Someone said calmly" how's the bleeding?"

"Better…but we should really get her into a hospital soon.."

"You said it…Let's go!"

Someone had lifted me from the ground and was carrying me somewhere. I felt tired….and little by little my eyelids were dropping. The last thing I heard was someone calling down my name.

**FILE #3: The blood stained manor**

**CASE CLOSED**


	35. Chapter 35: EPILOGUE

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**EPILOGUE! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: Blood stained manor: EPILOGUE**

I woke up feeling awfully cold and with an annoying beeping by my side. Something was attached to my arm, making it really uncomfortable to move. I opened my eyes lazily. I was in dark room with white walls and a strong smell of disinfectant.

So I was in a hospital. My head hurt and I felt dizzy. The memories of what had happened were still messy and blurry. I was still trying to make up my mind when I caught the sound of faint voices talking. They came from the farthest corner of the room where I saw a black couch and two men sitting on it: Lin-san and Naru; both of them were too focused on their chat that both failed to notice me looking at them.

"Noll… I'm sure, Taniyama-san will be okay, so you should calm down…"

"I _am_ calm…" Naru replied annoyed "I'm only a little concerned. She was technically death for almost five minutes…her brain cells could be all dead."

I mentally rolled my eyes. Only Naru could worry about me getting more stupid after an accident.

"She might not wake up…" Naru said coldly.

"The doctors said that her brain activity was normal, Noll. She's probably tired, and that's why she hasn't woken up"

So he didn't mean that I'd get stupider, but he actually was worried about me. God safe me, I must have died.

"How are the others...?" Naru sighed.

"Rei-san got a concussion, but apparently is nothing too serious, she's just been throwing up a little, but she's been quite clear that if someone mentions this incident to her mother, she'll make sure to curse that person for the rest of the eternity. Her brother broke his right arm, the only complain he has is his future inability to type in his computer for the next weeks…" was it my imagination or Lin-san's voice sounded a little amused "Takigawa-san sprained his left foot, nothing too serious. Brown-san and Matsuzaki-san area little scratched, but besides being tired they're fine: and Sasaki-san…well she's perfectly well…"

Naru nodded.

"What about you?"

Lin-san snorted.

"I've never been better, Noll"

Naru didn't reply. His eyes were fixed on the flooring, almost like he found the white tiles mysteriously fascinating. Lin-san sighed.

"I'll get us something to eat, Noll…"

I saw Lin-san getting up and walking out of the room quietly. Naru remained impassive. I even wondered if he hadn't fallen slept by any chance. I got up slowly (not because I wanted, but because it was really hard to get up). My chest hurt and felt all numb.

"Naru…?" I called him.

He snapped, and watched me with wide eyes. I saw a glimpse of concern and relief in his eyes, but those feelings disappeared almost as soon as they'd appeared.

"Mai…" he said getting up and walking to the bed "How are you feeling?"

"Mmmm…great!" I said raising my arm in a triumphant pose but lowered it immediately since it made my chest hurt really badly " owwww…."

"Idiot…don't do those harsh moves when you're hurt…"

" Owww….you should have told me earlier….auh…."

"It's common sense, idiot…"

"Well…sorry to try to make you feel better by pretending to be perfectly fine…"

Naru didn't say anything. He stared at me with unexpressive eyes.

"Ne…Naru…did it work?" I asked "The ghost….?"

"Seems to have been fully cleansed. " Naru replied " Hara-san, Momoka-san and Yasuhara-san are keeping an eye back in base just to make sure everything is ok. If nothing happens, we can close this case…"

"Oh….that's good. I feel sorry for those ghosts…." I said "Have to relive your death every night… geez… I'm glad that they're finally free…"

"Seems like it…"

I sighed in relief. I felt so tired out of sudden.

"Ne Naru…"

"What?"

"Sorry…."

Naru stared me in surprise and frowned quizzically.

"What for?"

"For making you worry…"I said shyly without looking him.

I heard him sigh.

"Never mind…. I'll always worry…"

What? Did Naru really just say that? I couldn't believe it. I stared at him wide eyed and saw him smirk.

"You idiotic reckless attitude is pain in my wallet…" he said " I'll be cutting your pay of this month for all the expenses of the hospital…"

I frowned. Nope, it was the same…narcissistic jerk as always. I smiled, but that was ok. I like him that way…

**Sorry if this epilogue disappoints you… :/ but well…it's an epilogue it's not supposed to contain much action right?**


	36. Chapter 36

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Another case….n.n I hope that it catches your attention**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The one who mutters in your ear #1**

"Ooooh….This…is….BORING" I cried out.

I was lying in hospital bed. My final diagnosis had been fourth and fifth rib broken and slight concussion; but due to the doctor's advice (and Ayako's and Aki's insistence) and Naru's command I needed to stay in the hospital until my ribs "looked better".

"Stop complaining…" Kei said. He was sitting in the couch with his arm in a cast. His sane hand rested under his chin "At least you can use both arms…"

"Use them for what? I can't even get up from this bed…" I ranted "Stupid Naru!"

"Mai…as much as you rant…he won't hear you. He's probably reading his file somewhere in Yokohama…"

"I can't believe he took a case without me!" I said annoyed " Masako must be clinging all her way over him!"

"And he's glaring at her…" Kei said reasonably " You're worrying too much, Mai…Mr. N likes you…"

"What? What makes you think that?" I said blushing.

"Oh…you're really too dense…" Kei sighed shaking his head "I thought he was going to kill me when we decided that Rei and I would stay to take care of you…"

"Eh? What does it have to do with Naru remotely liking me?" I asked frowning.

"Haha…." Kei laughed "Please…he hates me. I think he believes that I've got something with you….some sort of relationship beyond friendship…may be…Shibuya-san is obviously jealous…"

"T-there's n-no way that he's…j-j-jealous!" I said blushing furiously.

"Whatever…" Kei sighed flipping the page from his book.

I bit my lip lying back on my pillow. The room was really hot and I could hear the cicadas from the garden singing enthusiastically. I was thinking about what kind of things could Naru be doing and who was making him tea when the door flew open and Rei entered the room talking in her mobile. On her free hand she was holding a big white bag.

"Um… nope, she's better. No you can tell him that she hasn't gotten smarter, but at least she's not any dumber. Uh? Right now? Well…yeah, I guess I can. Sure…I was just bringing Mai some things…yep. I'll be there…no she's not alone, Kei will stay. Don't tell Shibuya-san! Ok…good…bye" Rei hung her phone and sighed leaving the bag next to the couch where Kei was sitting.

"Who was that?"I asked.

"Lin-san. Who else? "Kei answered as if the answer was obvious " Those two have been calling each other every day now…"

"Ohhhh!" I said clapping "So…so…you and Lin-san…?"

"Oh, please…he calls me to ask how you are, Mai! And he called everyday because they were in case and couldn't come visit themselves" Rei said trying to hide her panic "It's nothing personal…!"

"Isn't it? "Kei said teasingly.

Rei glared at her brother.

"What did Lin-san wanted anyway?" I asked.

"Shibuya-san wanted to know about your current condition and also, they're returning to Tokyo today, and they wanted me to pass by the office…"

"Soo…Lin-san asks for something, and you go do it right away…."Kei said teasingly "Yep…That marriage will work smoothly…"

Rei glared at her brother.

"If you weren't wounded…I'd hurt you…really really hurt you…" She said poisonously.

Knowing that having Rei hurting her brother in a hospital wasn't anything goo I decided changes the topic.

"Ohhhh….if you're going to the office…would you feed my fishes? I don't know if anyone has taken care of them. Naru surely won't…"

"Uh…I've been feeding them and Lin-san, too…so don't worry. I'll take them a picture and bring it to you. Naru-fish is enslaving the whole tank…it surely resembles the real one…"

I smiled.

"Really? Oh….poor of the rest…" I laughed "Please take them a picture! I really want to see them…"

"I will…" she smiled at me "And you slacker…." She added at her brother "Keep an eye on her…"

"Yeah yeah…"

Rei waved at us and left the room leaving us alone. I looked at Kei. He was busy reading his book, and he showed no signs of wanting to tell me anything. I laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling as I was slowly pulled into a dream…

Naru opened the door only to be greeted by bunch of colorful fishes staring at him from their tank. Naru raised an eyebrow and walked straight to his office ignoring them. If Mai wanted to keep pets, couldn't she keep them in her house and not in the office?

"Oh…those are, Mai-san's fishes?" John said leaning in front of the tank "They surely are big! When she got them they were so small…"

"Indeed…" Bou-san said "They're going to need a bigger tank…"

The door flew open, making the bells ring. Rei entered into the office with some bags. She smiled at the two men in front of the reception table and waved at them.

"Ahh…Rei-chan…good afternoon." John said politely.

"Good afternoon, John…Takigawa-san…"

"Yo…kiddo, what are you doing here?" Bou-san said.

"Lin-san asked me to get some things for him…."She replied raising the bag " But id didn't expect you to arrive this early. How was the case?"

"Oh…something boring; it was only a poltergeist caused by a rebellious teenager…"Bou-san said "No ghost…"

"Oh…haha…" She smiled puzzle.

The bell from the door rang once again. The three people standing in the reception turned to see who had just entered. It was a woman in her late twenties. Her hairs shoulder length, and her eyes were light brown. She seemed a little nervous of being there, and she looked like she hadn't expected to find anyone in there.

"Oh…hello…" she said shyly "is…ehm…Shibuya-san in here, by any chance?"

"Oh, you're looking for Naru…" Bou-san said " Well yeah…I'm not the receptionist but well. Why don't you sit and he'll come soon…"

"Oh…ehm thanks…"

The woman walked in shyly and sat down by the couches. John looked at Bou-san quizzically and then turned to Rei.

"Ehm….should we…offer her tea? Mai-chan usually does that, right?" John asked

"Er…."Bou-san added looking at Rei.

"Oh…don't look at me. I suck with house chores after all…!"

John sighed in defeat.

"I'll make it, then…" John said " But one of you will have to call, Shibuya-san…"

"Takigawa-san can do that. I'm here to deliver this after all…"

"What you…? Oh you little witch…" Bou-san said.

"What's all this mess…?" Naru said frowning from his office door " I thought I'd been clear when I said the office wasn't your reunion spot…"

"Good timing, Shibuya-san…I think you've got a client…she's waiting in the living…" Rei asked " I'll get you, Lin-san…I need to see him anyway…"

Rei rushed in to the chinese man's office. John had left to make the so called tea and that only left Naru and Bou-san to go into the leaving and greet the new client. Some minutes later, the tea had been served and the remaining three people had taken sit in the living as well. John sat next to Rei, both were smiling at each other, while Lin had sat with the laptop on his lap ready to write any important information.

"So…you are…who?" asked Naru.

"Oh, excuse my rudeness…" the woman said bowing " I'm Hirabana Ritsu. I'm the head doctor in Rekyrou Senkai Hospital. I was told that…may be you could help us with a certain matter…"

"Uh…?" Naru asked frowning.

"You see….there have been some incidents in our hospital "

"What kind of incidents?"

"You see…since two months ago…" Hirahara Ritsu said " Some of our patients complained about someone banging on their doors around midnight always at the same hour…almost as if someone was trying to enter the room; we have security cameras in every corridor, but none of them caught anything abnormal. The poundingwould persist for three days, and then it'd stop. Soon after that, the patients who claimed to hear the banging will start behaving strange… they began to act paranoid and they show some type of psychotic behavior. A week later…the patient would die in rare conditions…"

"What kind of conditions?"

"They…will suicide…"

"What?" Bou-san snapped.

"It's always the same pattern. The patient will wake up one night hearing those poundings on his door. They will keep on for three days before stopping, and a couple days later they start with the weird behavior…and then…they'll die. Please, Shibuya-san. Our patients' lives are in danger…"she said bowing pleadingly.

"I see…" Naru said closing his notebook " Hirahara-san…I believe that the problem here is most likely a mental disorder. I believe you should ask psychiatrist to check on your patients' mental health…"

"Oe…Naru!" Bou-san said angrily.

"Oh…I see…" Hirahara Ritsu said sadly " Thank you, Shibuya-san…"

The woman rose from her sit and bowed. She was about to leave when Rei suddenly snapped.

"Wait! Which hospital did you say you came from?" She said with her eyes wide open.

"Rekyrou Senkai Hospital…" she replied looking at her clueless.

Rei slapped her forehead.

"Bloody hell, that's Mai's hospital!"

The people in the room gasped. Hirahara Ritsu was totally puzzled. She didn't get anything of what they were saying.

Naru sighed rubbing his temples. The ghost magnet… Only Mai could end up hospitalized in a haunted hospital. He couldn't let his trouble prone assistant there alone…that was for sure.

"Hirahara-san…" he said bluntly "We'll arrive tomorrow morning. We'll need a room to set our equipment, and one or two rooms in case that we need to spend the night in there. I trust that you can make those arrangements… "

"Sure I can! Thank you so much, Shibuya-san!" Hirahara Ritsu said bowing grateful.

Naru remained silent and impassive; completely ignoring the trio that giggled on the couch and Lin's slight smirk.


	37. Chapter 37

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Thanks to all the sweethearts who had been reviewing this story. I never expect my reviews to surpass the 100…. Arigatou.**

**Well…here's another chapter. This chapter is the real begginging opf file 4, the last chapter was a little more of a prologue.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The one who mutters in your ear #2**

_I woke up feeling quite cold. All the lights were off, and the room looked really dark. Kei wasn't anywhere to be seen, something that I found weird since Kei stayed in my room every night to keep an eye on me, well it was either him or his sister, but since Rei was the only of us who could move freely, she was always busy with any of weird Naru's requests, and she would usually take the day shift, leaving her brother to take care of me at nights._

_I guess I'd just gotten used to wake up in the middle of the night and see him watching something in his laptop in the corner of the room for these two weeks. That's why it felt weird to wake up alone in the room. _

_I tried to get up slowly. The pain in my chest had improved considerably, but it still hurt like hell if I moved in the wrong way. Everything was so silent._

"_Mai…" a voice called me in a soft whisper._

_I turned my head. There he was. Naru was standing at the foot of my bed with his arms crossed over his chest. His black clothes almost made him lost in the darkness. In fact, if it hadn't been for his pale skin…I would have never notice him._

"_Naru?" I said puzzle. I didn't expect Naru to be here. The boy chuckled and gave a small amused smile. There was no way that Naru would ever smile like that! "Gene…"_

_So this was a dream. Well that explained some things, but it was weird…Gene wouldn't show up in my regular dreams, only when I was on a case; something that definitely did not apply to my current situation. _

"_Sorry…" I said puzzled " I didn't expect you to be in my dream…."_

"_It's all right, Mai " he said smiling._

"_Sooo….why are you here, Gene? I mean…this is a common dream…isn't it?"_

"_Since we're talking right now…we could assume it isn't…"Gene smiled._

"_Oh…yeah, you're right. I forgot that …haha" I said rubbing the back of my head " but…it isn't like I'll be on a case…I can't leave the hospital yet. I know Naru tends to exploit his employees….but he was the one who insisted that I should stay hospitalized. Yeah…like he would do it himself; last time I checked he discharged himself when he was hospitalized." I said rolling my eyes._

_Gene shook his head smiling_

"_Sorry...I got carried away…." I apologized. "So…what are we seeing tonight? Does it have to do with Naru's new case? Oh…I know….that's why you're showing me, even though I'm not in the case…you want me to pass the message, right?"_

"_Mai…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_If I were Noll…I'd have probably been complaining of your continuous blabbering…" _

"_Yes…Naru would; but you're not him. You're sweet and lovely Gene…" I laughed " Anyway...I'm not saying anything more. Show me what you have come to show me…"_

_Gene smiled again as he offered me his hand. I took it without protest; as soon has my fingers brushed his pale skin, the room became distorted and shifted. Suddenly, we were standing over a tall building. I could see through the walls and roofs, and I knew it was a hospital, since I could see doctors and nurses walking around the corridors and checking on patients. So Naru's next case is going to be in a hospital._

_I looked around, but nothing seemed abnormal. _

"_Gene…?"_

"_Look…" he said pointing under our feet._

_I looked into the direction that he was pointing, and my eyes opened widely. What was that? I could see white spheres floating around the hallways. They were numerous, but very small._

"_Eh? Isn't that…. will o' wisp? " I asked looking at Gene. He nodded._

"_Their number is large, so it'll make it hard to locate…"_

"_Hard to locate? Locate what?" I asked puzzled._

"_There…"_

_I looked down once more just to see a bigger sphere flying rapidly between the corridors. It passed a couple of nurses talking in a corner and made a stop in front of a closed door. It stayed there still…almost like it was staring at the door and then it simply vanished. _

"_Hey…it's….gone?" _

"_Mai…time for you to wake up…" _

"_Eh…? What? But hey…"_

_Gene began to fade and with it the rest of the scenery; only darkness began surround me and then…._

I opened my eyes. The room was suddenly so bright compared with the room in my dream and I felt a bit dazzled. I heard a lot of noise, like if the room was filled with a crowd. A noisy crowd.

"Hey…Mai-chan just woke up" I heard John's gentle voice said, while I was trying to refocus my view.

"Well, well…sleepy head. It was about time… We've been waiting for a while, you know?" that was Bou-san.

I got up just to find the whole gang sitting in the couch. They were all looking at me with bright smiles, except of Naru who his face was still as cold as iron, and well…Lin-san.

"Hiyaa, Mai-chaan" Yasuhara said waving at me with a silly smile.

"EHHH? What are you all doing here?" I said panicking as I tried to flatten my hair, which was a mess " you could have told me…I mean...I'm a _mess_ right now…"

"Oh, Mai-chan…I know you have a crush on me, but honestly…you don't need to fix yourself only to meet me…" Yasuhara said teasingly, and Naru raised his eyebrow.

"As if…"

"Never mind, Mai…" Kei said looking me " You didn't drool as much as other nights…so no need to be embarrased"

"I don't drool…!" I said blushing.

"Oh…yeah the marks on the pillow don't mean anything, right?" Kei added teasingly.

"Mai…we've seen you sleep for two weeks…and you always drool…" Rei said smiling.

"Such an unladylike act…" Masako commented covering her mouth with her sleeve.

"Yeah…that could count more like a babylike act…isn't it, my baby jou-chaann?" Bou-san added pinching my cheeks.

"Daaaah…deave be…adone…."I cried out " I dust wake ub and dou bick on be!"

Naru cleared his throat loudly just to call our attention.

"We're not here to play…we have a case we need to discuss…" he said visibly annoyed.

"Nee….Naru…why don't you just say that you're annoyed because you didn't got your chance to pick on Mai when she woke up…" Ayako said "I'm sure you're pissed because everyone is getting more of her attention…"

"Unlike you, Matsuzaki-san. I'm really much more concerned about our case "

"Really? Oh…I thought you only took the case because it was in Mai's hospital" Bou-san said releasing me.

Naru glared him and turned to his notes. Lin-san who was typing in his laptop raised his head and shook with a thin smile in his lips.

"Wait…what? A case? Here?" I said rubbing my cheek.

"Yes…we had a request from the chief of this hospital. Something about a spirit tormenting their patients…" John replied.

"Like I was saying…this is definitely the work of an earth spirit!"

"Hey, old lady…you've said that in every case since the first time we meet you and you've never got it right…" Bou-san said "maybe I should get you some folklore book so that you can find yourself more options to suggest…may be you actually will hit the jackpot someday…"

HIACK! Before Bou-san had the chance to avoid it, Ayako had already managed to hit his head with the note pad that hanged from my bed.

"What's it about?" I asked curiously trying to avoid their noisy bickering.

"Like Brown-san already said. There seems to be a spirit tormented the patients and driving them into suicide…if you had woken up earlier, you would have heard the case review…idiot" Naru said without looking me his eyes were fixed in his note book, complety ignorin the poisonous glare I was sending him right now " Hara-san… can you feel something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do…." Masako replied " But since this is a hospital, the amount of spirits moving around is so large, that I can't really make out any in specific…"

"I see…what about you, Momoka-san?"

"Uhm…there's something awkward in this place. Like Hara-san, I can't discern any specific spirit…but…there's something here that doesn't feel right… I think it has to do with the building itself rather than the spirits in it though…"

"The building?" Naru asked.

"I know what she means… this place has bad Feng Shui" Rei commented " We noticed since the first night, but we didn't give it much importance since it was an emergency and we really needed to get help…"

"What is Feng Shui?" asked John curiously. I'd heard about fengshui before, but to tell the truth I really didn't know much about it. I thought it had something to do with furniture…

"Feng Shui is an ideology derivate from the Taoist teachings. Literally translated it means wind and water. This comes from a passage from an ancient book…" Lin-san explained.

"_Qi can scatter and be rode by the wind, but water will always retain it…" _ Kei said "it was written in the Book of Burial by Guo Pu, a Chinese from the Jin Dynasty. "

"When you mean bad fengshui, what do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well…the objective of Feng Shui is to orient a building so that it will maintain a good spiritual energy or qi, so in order to attain that you most follow some location requirements. The locations follow the same bases of the Abe pentagram… "Rei said as she began to draw a star in the air as she talked "Seiryu, Genbu, Byakko, Suzaku and Koryu..."

"A place with good Feng Shui will have Genbu at the back of the land; it could be a small hill or a mountain. The east and west, Seiryu and Byakko, sides may be flat, or a little higher in the east. The front, Suzaku, should be flat and in the middle, where the structure is located would match with Koryu." Kei finished "This place fulfills the east and the west requirements, unfortunately, for the other two directions, the orientation is inverted. The Genbu is located in front, since there's a mountain facing the front door. The land in the backyard isn't flat nor higher, it's a little lower and there's a river not too far from here. Those details may suggest a bad Feng Shui orientation and so… bad qi…"

Kei glanced at Lin-san asking for his approval and Lin-san nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps the so called haunting from this place is rather more caused by negative energies than a spiritual entity itself…" suggested Rei letting her chin rest on her hand " the negative energy can be easily mistaken by ghost activity…"

"The girl might have a point. I'm not very into the Feng Shui thing, but I do remember a case I had where the owners mistook negative energy for a ghost phenomena. The thing got solve after they moved a couple of furniture…" Bou-san commented.

"Yes…but bad Feng Shui often attracts wandering spirits and also…this place has many Poison Arrows…."Kei observed.

"What are poison arrows?"asked John before I could.

"A poison arrow is a projecting corner. For example the corridor that leads to this room. It is a long flat corridor that opens up into a new room immediately at the end. Usually doors should be located in the sides of the corridors and not directly in the front. Direct lines tend to attract wandering sprits…"Kei explained.

"In other words…we have no idea what's causing this…" I said.

"I'm pretty sure the culprit _is_ an earth spirit. I've got the feeling this time…" Ayako said stubbornly.

"Your instincts are blinder than I thought then…" Masako said teasingly and everyone laughed.

"Now that I think about it…" I began " Why are you guys discussing the case in my room…? Shouldn't you be doing this in the base?"

"Ooooh…that's because boss couldn't take another case in with you absent, Mai-chan; he really _needs_ your presence. He even said that he wished that you could have been in our case in Yokohama." Yasuhara said with a malicious tone.

Naru lift his eyes from his notes and glared at Yasuhara coldly. That was the worst glare I'd ever seen in my life, so…Naru had missed me in the last case.

"Of course…" he said bluntly "Because the case was getting twisted and it would have useful to have Mai's dreams…"

Of course, it was pure interest after all.

"Don't listen to him…" Bou-san whispered in my ear " He was grumpier than ever, and he kept ordering Lin to call and see how you were…"

I felt my face blush; so Rei wasn't lying. He did ask a lot about my status.

"Oh…still, that doesn't explain why you are all here?"

"There was an emergency in the hospital, and no one prepared the room we would be using as base. I just figured that this place was better to discuss the case than the waiting room…" Naru said returning to his notes " it should be ready for now…"

"But hey…we know nothing about the case. How are we supposed to set the cameras? You don't expect to settle a camera in each patient's room. do you?" Ayako asked frowning.

"We'll set the base first, and then we'll conduct the interviews while Yasuhara-san does some research. Based on the results of the interviews and the information that Yasuhara-san gathers we'll decided which spots require more attention…" Naru said closing his file and getting up "in the meanwhile, you all we'll star unloading the equipment…"

The team did some funny sounds in complain, and for the first time, I was glad that I had to stay in bed. Unfortunately the idea of not being able to take part in the case depressed me.

"I also want someone to remain here with Mai…" Naru's voice broke into my thoughts making me jump. Someone with me ? Why? It wasn't like I'd getting into the ghosts way, was I?

"Ne Naru…I don't need anyone to babysit me…"I complained.

"You do, Mai. This ghost is targeting patients from the hospital, and knowing your luck sooner or later the ghost will pick on you. The last thing I need is my assistant in the hospital for another month"

Wow…Naru was thinking of my safetly? It's too good to be real.

"I don't want to spend more money in hospital bills…"

Then again, Naru the jerk is back…yes, I knew it was a way too good to be real.

"If that's the case…I can stay with her" Kei offered " I'm the one with one less arm, so there's not much I can do to help. At least I can keep Mai out of trouble…"

Naru looked at him frowning and the rest of the team burst into laughter. Kei and I looked at each other puzzled; and then Kei seemed to get the joke and slapped on his forehead.

"Oi….do I need to start considering you a rival, Kei-san?" Yasuhara said pushing up his glasses "If that's the case…let me tell you that I'm not willing to let go of _my_ Mai that easily…"

"Ehhh….?" I said. I knew he was kidding, he had to…right?

"Mmm…perhaps, Yasuhara-san…but I thought your heart already belonged to Takigawa-san…" Kei replied looking at Yasuhara. There was like some kind conspiracy look exchange between them that made me raise my eyebrow.

"Indeed…Takigawa is the love of my life, but Mai…she's my soul mate…"

"To bad…because I think she prefers _me…."_

" WHAT ?"

"Oh…are you challenging me?"

"May be…"

"Stop playing…" Naru interrupted. He was seriously pissed, I could feel the air thickening "if you need to discuss your personal feelings, do it sometime out of work times. Kei-san, you said it yourself…your physically disabled, so if you're staying with Mai…then make sure at least another person from the team is with in case you need back up. That's all…now to work."

I saw Kei winking at Yasuhara. The rest of the team were doing their best to not laugh, well except Masako, she seemed a little annoyed.

I'd have to ask for an explanation…and soon.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm not an expert in feng shui, but I do know a little. I hope I managed to explain myself well…:/**

**Thanks for reading**


	38. Chapter 38

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**So here's another chapter. Mai can finally move around . Enjoy the chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The one who mutters in your ear #3**

I flipped another page from that boring file and sighed. Kei had lent me his copy of the case, so that I could 'inform' myself, in case that I had one of my enlightening dreams. We'll…I think I already had had one; but to tell the truth, it hadn't been the most revealing dream and Gene hadn't given me much important information either. To tell the truth…he didn't even bothered to tell me that the case was right in front of my nose!

I decided that I should consult Kei before deciding if telling or not Naru about my dream. If Kei thought that the dream didn't had any valuable information, then I could forget about telling that narcissistic jerk.

"Waaaait….why are you telling _me?_ Shouldn't you tell Shibuya-san?"

"And let him call me an idiot for telling him a useless dream? No way… It's not like it is really important, right? I mean…all I saw were a bunch of will o' wisps flying around the hospital…"

"Nothing else? I mean…your dreams usually are more specific…" Kei commented " May be the accident did affect you and now your dreams are messed up…"

"You sound like Naru saying that I'd became dumber after the accident…" I said rolling my eyes " No, really…. I'm sure this dream has something to do with the case…something just tell me…"

Of course I wouldn't say that I knew the dream was related to the case since it had been shown to me by Naru's deceased twin.

"Mmm… well…" Kei said thinking "Many will o' wisps…well yeah, this is a hospital after all…a lot of people die in here, everyday. Most hospitals are usually bridges to the other world, since there are a lot of spirits crossing by this point. So may be this place is one too…"

"So you mean all those will o' wisps I saw are spirits in transit?"

"Uh…probably" Kei nodded " if that was the case, that would explain why neither Hara-san nor Hikaru could find the ghosts. The rest of the presences are overlapping them…"

"Eh? So do you think that was what my dream meant?" I asked puzzled.

"Uhm…that, I don't know. Did you see any suspicious will o' wisp?"

"Ara…suspicious?" I asked puzzled.

"Yeah…you know what I mean…" Kei said as he began to dig in his bag trying to get something "A will o' wisp with darker color, or bigger shape or…anything unusual…"

"Um… Well, I did see one that was particular bigger…" I said thoughtful.

"You did…? Well that might be something"

"So…should I tell Naru?"

"I guess…"

Kei brought out a big wooden board and some papers. He began to do something on the board and then wrote it down on the papers. I sighed in boredom again and looked at the file again. To tell the truth I didn't felt like reading.

According to the file, there was a ghost tormenting certain patients; and then the patients would go through some weird behavior before finally committing suicide. It seemed like a pretty nasty case, I just hoped that no one would to die while they were investigating.

Suddenly the door opened and a man wearing doctor clothes entered the room. The man was tall with black hair and glasses; to tell the truth, he reminded me a lot to Lin-san. Kei had raised his look and was now staring at the man frowning.

"May I help you sir?" Kei asked cautiously. Why was he so alarmed?

"Oh, excuse me…I didn't expect the patients to have visitors. I'm Dr. Tsumugi…I'll be checking Taniyama-san today…" the man said with a low voice.

"Eh? What happened to Dr. Yoshi?" I asked puzzled.

"He had an emergency today and he had to leave earlier…" the man said with a smile "I'll be taking care of her for today…"

Kei was still staring at the man, but he seemed to calm a little with the explanation. Dr. Tsumugi came to me and began to check my pulse, my breathing and some other things.

"Well…well… Taniyama-san. You're really good…the ribs seem a lot better, it still needs more time to fully recover, but by now I believe that you can move freely…"

"Can I?" I said cheerfully "Thanks to heaven, I was getting tired of staying all day in bed…"

"Well you can go around now; but make sure to keep someone by your side…_Accidents_ happen…" he said with a slight smile.

I blinked puzzled with the comment and I saw Kei raise an eyebrow behind him.

"Oh…interesting. Are you doing your homework, young man?" he asked turning to Kei and checking on the papers scattered over the table. "Ummm…that somehow look like a sort of ritual board…trying to contact a ghost aren't we?"

Kei didn't reply he just slightly glared at the man.

"Curious; young kids now like to play a lot with this kind of things…" he said smiling again " be careful…the spirits in this hospital may want to chase you if you do something you shouldn't…"

He had said the last part in a mocking voice…I think, but I shuddered. It somehow sounded more like a threat. Kei frowned as said good bye and left. He added that he would be around in case we needed anything.

"I don't like that guy…" Kei said frowning " Something is awfully wrong with him…"

"haha…you're just pissed because of what he said" I smiled " Hey, Kei…he said I could take a short walk. Let's go visit everyone in base…c'mon…"I begged.

"Ash…fine…"

Kei began to pick everything and put it in his back. Some minutes later I was holding on to Kei's arm as we walked to the base. I hadn't seen more than my room since I'd come to this place, but I found the corridors familiar due to my dream. We passed by another room's closed door. There was no name, but the door was strangely familiar.

"Mai! What are you doing out of bed?" Ayako snapped when we entered into the base. Naru raised his look and stared coldly at us with his eyebrow raised. Kei coughed frenetically and I began to pat his back.

"Hey…are you ok?" I asked as Kei pulled me into the couch.

Bou-san made me an space between him and John and sat happily.

"The doctor said I could use some exercise so I decided to come and check on you guys…" I smiled "So…anything new?"

"Nothing…" Bou-san said " the interviews weren't useful either…"

"Oh…sorry about that "

"It'd be a lot easier if we could take a look on those patient records. May be the pattern is something they did or had…" Bou-san sighed.

"There's no way the hospital would let us see those, useless monk" Ayako scolded him.

"Why not?" I asked puzzled.

"Protocols…" Aki replied for her " No one can touch those records unless the family allows it…"

"Dah…that's troublesome. If the pattern that the ghost is following has to do with their health, there's no way we'll figure it out without those files; right Naru?"

"We'll find some other way…" Naru replied. He was staring at the screens and telling something to Lin-san who nodded.

"I think we can fix that…" Rei said. Naru looked at her quizzically " There's a digital back up for each record right?"

"Yes, they're usually kept in the hospital's main data base " Ayako said " But they need a password to be accessed…"

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem, right Kei?" Rei added eyeing her brother.

"Mmm…give an hour in half. I could do it in less time if I had both hands, but I guess it can't be helped…" Kei replied taking sit in the computer next to Lin-san and Naru.

"What are you going to do, kiddo?" Bou-san asked puzzled.

"I'm going to hack into the system of course…"

"WHAT?"

"Hey…it's for the sake of the case, right? As soon we discover this ghost pattern, as soon we'll avoid him hurting anyone else…"

"Kei-san has a point" John corroborated.

"Then I'll leave it in your hands. Hara-san and Matsuzaki-san; I want you to visit the rooms from the deceased patients; see if you feel anything unusual…"

"Ok…" Ayako nodded. She and Masako got up and walked out of the room.

"Ne…Naru…"

"What is it, Mai?"

"Do you want me to do something?"

"Yes…keep yourself out of trouble, idiot…"

I glared at him, but as usual, Naru simply ignored me.

_I opened my eyes. I was standing in the corridor and it was probably quite late, since it was little dark. Weird that it was empty; being a hospital you'll expect the nurses walking around the corridors in any hour, but still…I was standing there all by myself. _

_A white orb passed flying by my shoulder and I understood, this was a dream; so I should try to gather any useful information for Naru , but too bad that Gene wasn't around, to tell the truth this place felt quite creepy to wander by myself…_

_I began to walk by the corridor looking in all directions. Hospitals were really scary when they were empty, but it didn't seem to be in a past time, in fact, it seemed like recent event, then where was everyone? I finally reached a closed door. The same door I had seen earlier while I walked to base with Kei. Whose room was that? _

_Suddenly the air thickened and the temperature began to drop; I could hear a faint sound in the distance, it sounded like a voice, a male voice chanting something, but I couldn't make out the words. The air in front of the door thickened until it gave form to foggy grayish shape: a enormous will o' wisp._

_I knew, now, why that door had seemed familiar! I'd seen it in my first dream, and the bigger will o' wisp had been staring at it just like this one was; but this will o' wisp was different; the one I'd seen first had been white, this one was gray. Were they the same?_

_The will o' wisp began to grow until it acquired human shape. It was still foggy though, almost as its body was made of smoke; and it was short…even shorter than me. Was it a child?_

_The child -like fog drew his hand to the door and pushed. That door did not open, and I saw the child's body stiffened in anger. He pulled the door knob with both hand and began to shake it wildly. The sound of the door that he tried to force open was terrible, it made my ears hurt._

"_STOP IT!" I cried out covering my ears._

_The child was now looking at me, he was faceless…the only visibly feature in his smoky face were his eyes: big and brilliant, like a cat's. His eyes were so cold and they were filled with so much anger; it made me flinch and shrink._

_ Well done Mai…you shouldn't have yelled at him now he's even angrier!_

_I began to back up slowly, without taking off my eyes of him, almost as if I expected him to attack me in the second i took off my look;my heart beating like a thousand per second; right then i just felt like crying and yelling out for help... The lights in the corridor began to flicker, and with it, i began to panic, as the child began to walk closer and closer to me; the lights behind him completely turning off with each of his steps; one by one... leaving only a thick darkness on his path... _

_The ghost stretched his arms at me as he opened its mouth into a giant black hole and letting out a horrible scream. I didn't think it twice; I turned away and began to run as crazy. Right now, the last thing i wanted to do was...looking him; I could feel his presense catching up with me. The crystals from the lamps and the windows around me were exploding in in front of me due to the intensity of the scream, so I had to close my eyes and cover my face with my arms to avoid the shards sinking into my face, now I was running blindly. I wanted to scream and ask for help... i wanted to cry out for Naru's help; even though i knew it was useless...since this was my dream…Then where was Gene? If he was planning to pull me out of here...then why hasn't he done it already?_

_The tears began to fall. I kept running through that endless corridor...when had it gotten so long? The scream geetting stronger in my hears...piercing deep into my soul..._

_Suddenly, I felt something grab my ankle and pull me back; and then, the last light of the corridor finally turned off…_

**Well that's the chapter. To tell the truth I'm not very convinced about how I wrote this last part. When I pictured it in my head, it felt scary but I don't know if I was able to give it the same intensity when I wrote it. Well it's up to you to decide…**

**Thanks for reading! 3**


	39. Chapter 39

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Thank you thearistocrat, your advice it's useful. **

**Here's another chapter. And since today is BrokenBlackCat's b-day, this chapter is dedicated to you.**

**Enjoy the read**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The one who mutters in your ear #4**

My eyes snapped open just to find to deep blue eyes staring directly at mine. I felt the blush begin to appear on my cheeks and turned away from him as fast as I could making sure that he wouldn't caught a glimpse of my face.

"Mai…if you're just going to sleep and not be useful, then do it in your own room, idiot…" Naru said.

"Well…sorry! I can't help where I fall sleep!" I said annoyed, but Naru, as usual, ignored me.

"You should go back to your room…it's late…"

"Eh? How long did I sleep?"

"Around five hours…" Bou-san replied "We would have woken you, but you were soundly slept…besides, Naru was a way too busy watching your cute sleeping face…"

My face flushed lively red, and I saw Naru glaring poisonously at Bou-san.

"Shibuya-san was just about to pick you up and take you back to your room " John said gently " but you woke up before that…"

"Awful timing, Mai…" Yasuhara laughed " You were this close to be in Naru-chan0s arms…."

"EHHH?"

"Mai…" Naru said ignoring Yasuhara. How the hell could he do that? Well…he's Naru after all " Were you having a dream about the case, by any chance?"

"How did you…?"

"You were uneasy on your sleep. You usually are when you have one of those dreams…" he replied bluntly.

I dropped my jaw open. I was stunned. So Naru really watched me sleep, not only that…he had watched me enough times to figure out whenever I had a dream about a case.

" Mai…you don't want your mouth filled with flies…" Naru said frowning " Answer me and stop looking at my obviously beautiful face…"

That narcissistic jerk!

"Well…yes I had one…" I replied annoyed.

Naru picked his file and a pen. He sat in front of me and looked me with those pretty blue eyes.

"Begin…"

I sighed and began to retell them my dream. I've gotten used to the silence in which my friends listened to me whenever I told them my dreams. The only sound that filled the room, besides my voice, was Lin-san's and Kei's typing.

"Can you remember the number of the room?" Naru asked when I told about the ghost banging the door.

"I didn't see the number…I was to freak out, you know?" I said rolling my eyes " but I saw the same door when we were walking to the base earlier…"

"Oh…so you mean, it was the door you stared for about 5min like an idiot?"Kei asked glancing over his shoulder at me.

"Well, Sorry!" I snapped at him " I just thought the door seemed familiar…well it was the door from the dream I told you this morning. The one the bigger will o' wisp kept staring at…!"

Wrong….Big Mistake , Mai. Naru was pissed I could tell by seeing the look in his eyes and I could feel it in the air. The rest of the team moved uncomfortably away due to the sudden change in the atmosphere. I saw Kei shrink in his seat, like a scared dog….

"Mai…" Naru said coldly " I thought I was clear when I told you to tell _me_ whenever you had a dream…"

"W-well…it didn't look like anything important" I defended myself " I just saw a bunch of will o' wisps flying around the hospital. I didn't want you calling me an idiot for telling you useless dreams so I thought I should consult Kei first…!"

"Well…I'm calling you and idiot for not telling me " Next time…make sure you tell _me_ first…"

Naru glared at me and then his glare turned into Kei's direction. Poor Kei! And it wasn't even his fault…

"Kei-san…" Lin-san said knowing that in Naru's current mood he wouldn't make any noce question " Do you happen to remember the number of the room where Taniyama-san stopped?"

"Yeah…" Kei said giving Lin-san a grateful look. Apparently, Lin-san's question had managed to drive Naru's attention away from him " it was room 312. There wasn't any name plaque so I really don't know who's staying in that room…"

"It doesn't matter…we can ask for the patients rooms " Lin-san replied calmly.

Naru was still pissed. He turned at me and demanded me to tell him about my other dream. I had to tell him everything; obviously omitting Gene's part.

"So…both will o' wisp you saw are probably the same…" Bou-san commented.

"You think? They actually looked different…" I commented.

"Spirits can easily get corrupted " Rei said letting herself fall on the couch "Probably that will o' wisp did, and its aura changed…"

"I don't feel any hostile spirit, though" Masako said covering her mouth gracefully.

"Well, well…you've been wrong before, haven't you?" Ayako said teasingly.

"I've asserted more times than you and your earth spirits though"

Ayako glared at the younger girl by her side and sighed with nothing answer her comment.

"Either way…there must be at least one hostile spirit in this place…" Aki said. She had been helping Kei with the typing. May be his slowness was beginning to annoy her " If it attacked Mai in her dream, it's got to be hostile in some way…"

"And there's also the chanting thing…" Bou-san observed "You really couldn't make out the words?"

"Nop…it sounded a bit distorted…"

"Those ghosts even chant?" John said " I've never heard one, though…"

"Who knows? You always learn something new about ghosts…" Rei said lowering her shoulders.

Suddenly the door from the base flew open and a woman with shoulder length black hair entered the room frenetically. I had never seen her before, but judging by Naru's acknowledgment to her, she was probably the client.

"Hirahara-san…how may I help you?"

"Shibuya-san!" she cried out " It has happened again!"

"What has happened again?" Naru asked irritated by the woman's lack of information.

"Another patient…" she said in panic "another patient has begun to complain about the banging on his door…!"

"What?" Everyone gasped.

"Lin…had it been any activity signs?" Naru said looking at the Chinese assistant.

"None…" Lin-san said shaking his head and Naru frowned.

"Hirahara-san…, who might, this patient, be?" he asked coolly.

The woman responding as Hirahara-san took a deep breath to calm herself before replying.

" Okazaki Yuzuke…room 312"

My heart skipped a beat. I saw the look on my friends faces. I'd done it again…


	40. Chapter 40

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Here 's another chapter. Sorry if I made any mistakes…I'm a little ill, and I'm having horrible headches and nausea . **

**Enjoy the read**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The one who mutters in your ear #5**

Room 312: Okazaki Yuzuke. When we arrived, a couple of nurses were comforting a boy with black hair and pale face. He was probably one or two years younger than me, and he seemed horribly terrified. The nurses were trying to calm him with soothing words, but he was trembling between the bed sheets and apparently deaf to their voices.

Bou-san and Lin-san were busy examining the door of the room. I had insisted to come, since I wanted to corroborate whether my dream had been real or not. To my surprise, Naru didn't oppose, so right now I was there standing in front of Yuzuke-kun with the help of Rei.

"What happened?" Naru asked. I was about to scold him for being so insensitive to ask such a question when the boy was visibly affected, but it was Naru after all, and it didn't matter what I said to him, he would still do it. I just felt sorry for the boy, I kind of understood his terror.

"I…I really don't know…" the boy replied "I-I was sleeping when I suddenly woke up because I was feeling so cold. The room was so dark; it was strange, since there's always a little light that comes from the corridor. Then…it began. Someone was banging my door so hard that I thought the door would break. I-I was so scared, but I managed to press the calling button, and some minutes before the nurses came, it'd already stopped…"

Naru was taking notes in his file. He seemed thoughtful, like always. While he was at it, Bou-san had moved to my side, while Lin-san and Rei were taking a look around the room, almost as if they had been expecting to find the ghost pasted to the wall or something.

"Did you happen to hear anything besides the banging?" Naru asked again, raising his look from the file.

"Something besides the banging?" Yuzuke-kun asked puzzled "N-No…i-in fact…e-everything was too quiet…"

"I see…was this the first time you heard it?"

"It is…" he replied "Am I … Am I going to die? Like the other patients did"

I looked at him with pity. He knew that the banging meant he was the ghost's next victim. Poor thing…

"According to what I've been informed…the last victims died in of suicide…" Naru said coolly " Do you have any reason to suicide?"

Yuzuke-kun shook his head firmly.

"Then…I don't think there's a reason that you'd die…" Naru replied simply " Hirahara-san…"

"Yes…?"

"I believe it'd be recommended to change his room…"

"Switch rooms?" She replied "We've tried that…but it doesn't matter, the incidents continue even if we change the room…at least that happened with the other patients.."

"Then the haunting is strictly on the person…" Naru said grabbing his chin.

"May be if he's in a shared room…" I suggested " Or maybe one of us could stay with him…"

Naru nodded.

"Takigawa-san, tomorrow night, I want you to stay with Okazaki-san "

"All right…I'll keep an eye on the kid " Bou-san said smiling.

"Lin…I want one of the cameras settled in here and another one in front of the door. Microphones and temperature recorders as well…"

Lin-san nodded and then left to retrieve the camera and the other equipment.

"Shouldn't we ask permission to his family first?" Rei asked.

"Ehm…Yuzuke-kun has no family "said Hirahara-san quietly "He's one of the kids of a nearby orphanage. He was brought here by one of our doctors due to complications after a cold…"

"I see…" Naru replied nodding " If that's the case, there's no problem. My employees will take turns so that one of them is always by his side. I'll ask Matsuzaki-san to prepare some protective charms…"

"You should have Hikaru-chan purify the room before we set the charms…" Rei said looking at him with her arms crossed over her chest "Don't forget the thing we said about the orientation…the charms could fail if the room holds too much negative energy…"

Naru looked at Rei for a couple seconds and then nodded.

"Go tell Momaka-san to get ready… I want her to do the ritual as soon as possible. We won't afford any waste of time." he said. Rei nodded and left the room just like Lin-san did before " Mai…"

"Yes…what do you want me to do?" I asked smiling.

"You're doing nothing but going back to your room, idiot…" he said heading to the door.

"Eh…?" I replied puzzled.

Going back to my room? Did that mean that Naru didn't want me in the case?

"Mai…" Naru's voice called me. He had already left the room and was walking to mine instead.

"Ah!" I said rushing behind him what made my chest sore a little.

Naru sighed in frustration. He waited for me and began to walk in a slower pace, so that I could keep on with him painlessly.

"Why do I have to stay in my room?" I asked "I want to help too...!"

"You won't be helping anyone in your current state. You're not fully recovered and since you're such a trouble prone, you'll probably end up messed with the spirit…" He said firmly "I don't want to worry about more insurance expenses so…for your own good…you'll stay out of this case, as much as possible…otherwise, I'll have to cut your paid for another three months…"

"Oh…" I said surprised. Ignoring the fact that he was threatening me about reducing my pay, his voice tone and his 'I don't care' look, it was obvious that Naru was actually worried that the spirit would hurt me more from what I already was.

Naru did care about me after all! I felt happy to know that, but still…I didn't want to stay there doing nothing, when my friends were so busy with the case.

"But…I want to be useful…" I sighed "There must be something I can do…"

Naru stared at me for a moment; his face as expressionless as usual. We had arrived to my room and he was standing at the door making sure that I got in bed before left the room.

"Fine…there's something you may be able to do…"

"Oh! Tell me, tell me! I'll do my best. I swear…" I said cheerfully from the bed.

" If you have a dream about the case…notify me immediately; even if you believe the case to have no meaning…understood?"

"Yes, sir…! " I said winking at him. Naru, as expected, ignored me and left the room closing the door.

I lay, back to the pillow and closed my eyes. Soon enough, I was drifting into a deep dream.

"_Mai…"_

_I opened my eyes. I was lying surrounded by the many light orbs that usually appeared in my dreams. Gene was knelt by my side, looking me with his quiet and tender eyes._

"_Oh…h, Gene…" I said getting up "Good…this means that you're about to tell me something useful for the case, right?"_

_Gene smiled slightly. His smile has always been so charming and it looks like the fake smile that Naru often uses, but a lot warmer. I wonder…if Naru didn't fake his smile, would it look like Gene's?_

"_Come Mai…" he said offering me his hand._

_I took his hand and suddenly we were standing in a big yard. It was completely plain, and there were no plants, only plain black soil. I could see some boards and rocks _

"_Where are we?" I asked puzzled._

"_Look…"_

_I black figure walked between us without even noticing our presence. The figure was wearing a black raincoat. I couldn't see his face, he was wearing a white demon mask (the kind of masks that were worn in the temple festivities) __**(1)**__. He was holding a white base with something carved on its surface. The figure knelt in the middle of the of the yard and began to dig in the ground._

"On kiri kiri…hatari hatari…on kiri omaysaiya sowaka…On kiri kiri…"

_My heart almost stopped beating. That chanting…it somehow felt familiar. The voice…the words…_

_The black figure put the vase in the hole he'd just dug and began to bury it as he kept repeating the same words over and over. _

"_Gene…what is that…?"_

"_Remember the words, Mai…" he replied "Once you're awake…tell them to Lin or any of your onmyouji friends. You can't perform an exorcism, it's too risky…you must warn them…"_

_The scene around us soon faded; and we were suddenly standing in the darkness again._

"_Risky…?" I said " Wait…how are we exorcising the spirit if we can't perform an exorcism…?"_

"_Do as I told you, Mai…" Gene said sternly " You shall not perform an exorcism until _**it**_ is destroyed…"_

"_it? What it, Gene?" I asked. Gene began disappear. "No, Gene…don't leave! What is that it you're are talking about? GENE!"_

_Too late. He was gone…I repeated the words in my head. Gene had said I should tell someone, and that was exactly what I was going to when I wake up._


	41. Chapter 41

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**I'm feeling a little better so I decided to write another chapter,**

**Enjoy the read**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The one who mutters in your ear #6**

"I don't know…something isn't right with that guy…"someone muttered indignantly.

That was the first thing I heard when I woke up. The lights in my room were on, and judging by the voice it was Rei who was talking.

"Yeah….I kind of hit that alarm, too…when I met him this morning" Kei voice replied.

"He even insinuated that Hikaru's purifying ritual would fail…how the hell does he know the ritual anyway…?Ag…I'm pissed…"

"Yeah…I noticed that. Go aske Lin-san to hug you. That should fix up that…"

HWACK! Rei must have hit her brother.

"Auch! Hey…it's not like you wouldn't like that!"

"I've got a couple of fire spells in here…want me to try them on you?" Rei's voice gave me shudders.

"Hehe…not thanks. I'm okay with Shibuya-san's glares, by now…"

"That's your fault for provoking him"

"Well sorry…I just wanted to give him a small push…you know…"

"You're just going to make him hate you more…"Rei sighed.

"You're right…that's not a wise decision….perhaps I should shift my efforts onto Lin-san…Auch!"

"Well…I'd rather that…" I said getting up from my bed.

"Mai…you woke up…" both twins said surprised.

"Yep…I think you and Lin-san could make a nice pair…haha…" Rei frowned at me " Anyway…good thing that I found you here…"

"Eh…? What do you mean?"

"I need to go to the base…" I said firmly "I had a dream…I'd tell you but Naru made swear I'd tell him first…"

"We get it… we need to go anyway. I just finished with the files…" Kei commented.

And I need to see how is Hikaru doiong so…let's go, Mai…"

Rei helped me out of bed and we began to head to the base. We stopped in mid way, right in front of Yuzuke-kun's room. Naru was standing in front of the door arms crossed over his shoulder and staring into the room. I heard a slight chime of bells…

"Naru…." I said and Naru turned to me slightly surprised.

"Mai…what are you doing here?" he said coldly.

"Well…you said you wanted me to tell when I had a dream, so here I am…" I said.

"You could you have sent someone to find me, idiot…" Naru sighed.

"OI! I bet if I did you would have gotten mad anyway…" I said frowning " jerk…Uhmmm is it Hikaru performing her ritual?"

"Isn't that obvious…"

"Well…sorry for asking an obvious question, then…"

I looked in to the room. Hikaru was wearing a light pink kimono with flower patterns; a long rosary with bells was entwined on her hands, and she looked calm and peaceful. Hirahara-san and Yuzuke-kun were sitting in a corner. The first one was holding the boy to keep him calm.

"_Kuni-Tsu-Kami__** (1)**__i, hear our praying…" _she said softly as she made the bells chimed" _cleanse this land from all hatred.__Ama-Tsu-Kami__**(2)**__ respond to our needs, tame the evilness in this place…Haya-tsu-mujo no Kami__**(3)**__, clean the air between us…"_

I heard Hikaru chant her praying with each of the chimes. I'd seen her do this ritual once, I remembered the intense peaceful feeling I received in it, but…today was different. May be it was my imagination, but I felt the air unusually cold and… heavy?

Hikaru suddenly interrupted her chants and raised her head in alarm. Suddenly, I found Naru's arm in front of me and the twins were both standing on our sides with serious expression.

An ear piercing cry filled the room and the lights began to flicker as crazy. I had to cover my ears. It was horrible, it sounded like a lot of voices crying in pain and muttering words in an incredible speed…

…_**..Stop…..**_

…_.__I'll make you pay…_

_Shut Up_

_Come find us…._

Hate you

He killed us

Bastard

Go away….

**DIE **

DIE

**DIE **

"Uh? They're angry…" I heard Hikaru mutter.

"Hikaru get out from there, now!" Kei said firmly.

Hikaru got up, but before she attempted to leave the room she was shot against a wall. I gasped. There was something there…curled in the darkest corner of the room; it was small and it was surrounded by great black aura.

"_Hara dobou onbokken shutan sirii"_ Rei shouted, while Kei helped Hikaru, Hirahara-san and Yuzuke–kun out of the room. The next thing I saw was Rei being repelled against the wall and letting out a cry.

"REI!" I shouted; I was about to begin chanting the ku-ji when Naru's hand caught mine stopping me. " Naru what are you…?"

"OI…what's going on…?" Bou-san shouted running to us, he looked into the room and before any of us could answer he ran into the room chanting "_Naumaku sanmanda…"_

" DON'T USE YOUR CHANTS!" Rei shouted, but it was too late. Bou-san had already finished his chant and just as Hikaru and Rei he was sent out of the room with an incredible force.

"Bou-san!" I cried out.

"What the hell…?" said Bou-san panting in pain while he rubbed his chest.

"The spells…are being…reflected…" panted Rei " We can't use them….or we'll end up hurt by our own power…"

"What?" I said covering my mouth.

Then I remembered Gene's words in my dream: '…_You can't perform an exorcism, it's too risky…'. _Was it this what he meant? If we tried an exorcism it'd be reflected and hurt the caster instead? How was that even possible…?

There was a loud whistle and a daze passed between us, a bunch of light orbs flew into the room (a mix of the shinshou and Lin-san's shiki probably) and charged against the shade. It moaned in pain and vanished. The room grew warmer and the lights stabilized again while each of the shiki returned to its master.

"Noll…." Lin-san said running to us.

"I'm fine…you should worry about Rei-san and Takigawa-san…" Naru said firmly.

"I'm fine…just lost my breath for a while…" Bou-san said rubbing the back of his head.

"Hikaru-chan…" I said kneeling by her side.

"I'm all right…" she smiled " You should worry about Rei, she charged with a strong spell after all…if she got hit by it then she probably got quite a knock…"

"Uh?" I turned to Rei. Lin-san was helping her back on her feet and she was rubbing her head with a painful expression.

"Yikes…right, I got hit by my own sword. Don't know if I should be ashamed or proud to know I'm actually this powerful…" she muttered annoyed "ouch…I think I got another concussion… "

She seemed fine. At least everything was calmer now.

"Hirahara-san…I suggest to designate a new room for Okazaki-san while we work on this ghost. The rest of you, let's head back to base. Mai have information for us and we need to make some decisions…" Naru looked at us and turned to the base.

"Let's go, Mai…" Kei said pulling my arm.

The rest of us followed Naru slowly. I was still shocked by what happened. Not being able to use the spells? How were we supposed to solve this case now? This case was going to be the most difficult one we'd ever faced…

_That's right…you should be scared…_

I stopped on my heels, with my eyes wide open. Whose voice was that? It was almost like if someone was talking to my ear!

"Did you hear that?" I asked Kei.

"Hear what?" he replied frowning.

"I… nothing. I guess it was just my imagination…let's go. They're leaving us behind…"

Kei nodded and both us rushed after the rest of the team into the base.

**(1)Name given to the Shinto gods that live in the earth ( all of them in general)**

**(2) Name given to the gods of that live in the Heavens.**

**(3) Name of the God of the wind in shintoism.**


	42. Chapter 42

Si…GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Well sorry to take long to update….I have two excuses for this….the first, I was awfully sicks this last days…and second I had a big chemistry test last Saturday. :/**

**Anyway…here's the chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The One the mutters in your ear #7**

"What do you mean with your spell being reflected?" asked Ayako frowning when Bou-san explained what had happened to him.

"Not only his, mine and Hikaru's were reflected as well…" Rei replied crossing her arms over her chest.

"Can a ghost do such a thing?" asked John puzzled.

"Not a ghost…" replied Kei "That was a deflecting spell…it must have been cast by someone….most likely an onmyouji, and a pro one…"

"An onmyouji….?" I asked surprised. May be…the man of my dream? " I had a dream…I saw a man in it, He was burying some kind of vase…."

"Burying?" Naru asked frowning "Burying things can often be a mean of cursing…"

"That's right. Did you hear any kind of chanting while he did it?"

"Yes, I did…it was like…." I tried to repeat the words in my mind but as much as I tried my mind was blank.

And I'd tried to make sure not forget them!

"You can't remember, can you?" Kei asked.

I laughed nervously as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Idiot…" Naru sighed.

"You can't remember anything? Not a single word?" Rei asked me.

I bit my lips making a big effort to replay the dream in my head, paying special attention to the scene where the masked figure was burying the vase.

"It went like On kirkiri something…." I said cursing my awful memory.

"_On kiri kiri…hatari hatari…on kiri omaysaiya sowaka"_ chanted Rei " That spell accompanied by the burying of a vase usually refers to a Mizukokuji (1)"

"A Mizukokuji?" I asked " What's that?"

"It 's a very ancient practice…dark magic. It was common in ancient China and other asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. In these countries it's known a Toyol " Kei said as he began to search for something in his laptop and then show us a picture of a white base with children carved on it " The caster would use a Mizuko−a deceased fetus− and turn it into a kind ghoul. The Mizuko will bring luck, fortune and wealth to its master in exchange of a payment. The payment would vary depending of the master's requests…as greater the desires as grave is the payment…"

"So it's proportional…" Naru said looking at the laptop screen " Lin…?"

"I've heard of that kind of practice…but it's quite ancient, and its practice is usually limited to certain regions. I'm not very familiar with it."

"I see…how about you two?" Naru added referring to the twins.

"Well…we had a Mizukokuji a couple of years ago. Of course it was, for much, not as big deal as this one. The best way to break a Mizukokuji Curse is by disposing of the fetus…" Kei said "But the way of disposal depends of the power of the ghoul; as older the mizuko stronger it becomes…"

"The problem is finding it…" Rei added " Usually the master caster would keep the vase close and hidden; the fact that he actually buried it somewhere, means that he has given the ghoul a certain level of freedom. Not surprising that it's been wandering around the hospital…the question is …why would he do that?"

"That's something we need to figure out" Naru said " Mai already gave us a lead of where might it be hidden; the place in Mai's dream should be somewhere around the hospital, if not in the hospital itself. "

"But how are we supposed to deal with this thing?" asked Ayako " If spells aren't working and are bouncing back at us…there's no way to defend ourselves against it if it happens to attack us…"

"Not that you should worry….your power is too weak to even kill a fly" Masako commented covering her mouth,

"Repeat that you rascal!" Ayako snapped annoyed.

"If spells aren't working; we'll have to rely on physical attacks." Aki commented " The shiki could harm it earlier, so I believe my blade should too…"

"If that's the case…Sasaki-san. I want you to stay by Okazaki-san's side. He's the current target of the spirit and I wouldn't be surprised if he shows soon again."

"Understood…"

"I'll lend you two of the shinshou…." Kei said" I'm going to work on breaking the deflecting spell…"

"Very well, Kei-san. Until then…the rest of you shall stay in base and assist Yasuhara-san with the investigation. Since your abilities to defend yourselves are being shut…we shall not take any risk"

"I can start looking for the vase…" offered Rei.

"Hey kiddo, didn't you hear Naru? If you get attacked how are you defending yourself?" Bou-san said messing with her hair.

"Hey! I'm a pro. Exorcising spells aren't the only tricks under my sleeve. I have a few other techniques in my arsenal…" Rei replied fixing her hair " I can use physical as well…so trust me…I'll be fine…"

"If that's the case; I'll be trusting your judgement, Rei-san…" Naru said.

"Leave it all to me…" she said winking at us.

"Wait…what about your head?" I asked.

"Mai…my head is perfectly fine…."

"Well if both Rei and Kei are helping in the case…I'm helping too! And no buts…" I said frowning and putting my hands on my hips demandingly. "I've got the right…"

"But unlike them, Mai, you're pretty much useless; so whether you help or not, it doesn't make much difference…" Masako said teasingly.

I glared at her. That girl…right, look who's talking? The one who couldn't even step into a haunted house the last case…

"I'll let you take part , Mai. If I don't the ghost will find his way to you anyway…" Naru said " But you'll stay in base by all means…and you won't be going anywhere unless Sasaki-san or Lin go goes with you…"

"Lin-san? Why him?" I asked puzzled.

"Shiki can hurt the ghost…idiot. Weren't you listening?"

"Well yeah… I heard that part; but if its because of the shiki, Kei could go with me…I don't want to bother Lin-san!"

I heard Kei choke and his sister patting his back.

"Kei-san will be busier…" Naru said firmly " It's necessary to break the spell as soon as possible…"

"Oh…well, that makes sense…"

"Well… if that's all you need to say. We're leaving for our duties…" Rei said standing up with Aki; both of them put the communicator's earphones on.

"If anything happens…tell us right away…" Aki said.

"You too…stay in contact…" Naru said coolly " If you find anything irregular…notify right away"

"Yes sir…" replied Rei making a military salute.

"Don't get into trouble, sis…" Kei said " I don't want to clean up your mess later…"

"I'm not Mai, don't worry…"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" I said annoyed.

Rei smiled at me playfully and then walked out with Aki. The rest of SPR ended up secluded in base. Never had we faced a case in which exorcising was practically forbidden…

There were too many questions, and not enough answers…but somehow, deep inside, I knew this answers would arrive sooner than expected.

**(1)This is not the real name of the curse. I know this curse is real…it was practiced long time ago in China, and some countries in the asian pacific still practice them, I think…but I didn't know how it was called in Japanese so I made up its name using the word MIZUKO ( deceased fetus). Anyway…if someone knows how is it called in tell me…so that I can edit it.**


	43. Chapter 43

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be mostly using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Well sorry to take long to update…again. I'm still sick…**

**I hope the chapter is written with no mistakes or at least acceptable…so if any of you fin anything stupid or bad written please report it to me…right now I'm feeling a bit ill…but since I haven't updated in a while I managed to write this chapter…**

**I hope that you're patient and comprehensive with me…**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: The One the mutters in your ear #8**

Rei walked around the corridor. She'd been looking around the building making sure to not miss a single corner; but until now, she hadn't had any luck, and she certainly hadn't found anything useful or abnormal.

"Nothing yet?" asked Naru in the microphone from the base.

"To tell the truth…I'm starting to doubt whether the culprit is in the building at all…" she sighed " I checked each level twice, and there isn't any abnormality…am I missing any hot spot?"

"There's a hidden floor…" Naru commented. He had been watching the hospitals blueprints ever since Rei had left the room " The building has five levels, but the fourth level has been omitted… from the third floor it goes straight to the fifth… "

"Now that you mention it, boss…you're right I don't recall seeing the fourth floor in the elevator either…" Yasuhara commented.

"Well….I'm not surprised " I commented carelessly as I pushed away a pile of folders.

"What? You're not?" asked Bou-san.

"Nope…the number four has always been skipped in many things in asian culture. The fourth sit, the fourth floor…the fourth room…" I said "since the number's pronunciation sounds quite much like the word "Death"…people have always associated to bad fortune… what?"

I added when I saw everyone staring at me in surprise. Even Naru seemed a little surprised.

"Hey….just when did Mai became smart?" Yasuhara muttered.

"You don't think she did hit her head and suddenly became smart, right?" Bou-san added.

"Oh…that's mean Takigawa-san…" John said.

"You're all aware that I'm sitting right here, and I can listen to you perfectly well from here, right?" I said annoyed " and for your information…that's called studying. I'm aiming to become a folklorist…naturally I've read about those kinds of things…" I added with a little pride in my voice. It wasn't a lie…at all.

"Oh, really?" said Kei " last time I check you weren't doing your homework at all, Mai…"

"Hey…I might not hand it on time, but that doesn't mean I'm not doing them…" I said frowning " Anyway…we were talking about the fourth floor….weren't we?"

"Right…so there's a fourth floor. I guess I should go check it…" Rei said from the microphone " If it's hidden…I assume it has no entrance…"

" There's not entrance signaled in the blueprints…"

"Not that it should…."I added " The fourth floor doesn't have to be a real floor. The apartment complex I used to live in had a small space between the third and fifth floor. It was narrow enough for a kid to go through it, but I guess it could be considered a floor…"

"I hope that's not the case in here…" Rei said " I don't want to crawl over dusty floors…gugh…"

I laughed softly.

_She can't find us…_

_Can she?_

_Listen to us!_

"Eh?" I said puzzled looking around.

Had it been my imagination, or someone had just said something? Something similar had happened back then in the corridor. It sounded like many voices whispering at the same time and it made it really hard to understand. I looked at my companions and none of them seemed to have heard anything…was it my imagination?

"Yasuhara-san…what did you find in the records…?" Naru asked putting away the blueprint and sitting in front of me, making me forget about the voices for a while.

"Well…all the patients were all orphans…and not just that. They all came from the same orphanage. That's the most obvious pattern I could find….besides that, there's nothing else…the range of ages is between 5 and 19… and they didn't share any kind of disease or disorder. They were hospitalized by complications of a cold. All of them were practically fully recovered and soon to be released…"

"That's a pity…" John commented sadly " They were just about to go home, weren't they?"

"And that's possibly the fate meant for that Okazaki kid…" Bou-san commented.

"Poor kid…" Ayako agreed.

"But why would the culprit want to harm a bunch of orphans?" Bou-san said scratching his chin.

I looked at the roof thoughtful.

…_Okazaki…._

_He must join us…_

…_Soon…_

_Yes soon…_

_get him…_

My heart gave a jump and I looked around in alarm. This time I was sure I hadn't imagine it, but why only I could hear those voices?

"Mai?" Masako whispered to me.

"uh?" I replied blinking puzzled.

"What are you doing?"

"Eh?" I said laughing stupidly " No, no…I was just wondering how Okazaki-kun is…haha...eh…say Masako…didn't you hear or feel something just a while ago?"

"Something?" she said frowning " Like what?"

"Oh…it's nothing…." I said " Ne…Naru…. Can I go visit Okazaki-kun?"

"What?"

"Eh….I think he needs some moral support…" I said. Lie…I wanted to ask him if he could hear those voices as well, but if I told Naru that he wouldn't let me go. "I mean…he was terrified….can I go, please, please?"

"Mai might be right…" Ayako said "She has a nice touch comforting others, and that child certainly needs some comforting…"

Naru sighed and nodded.

"Lin, go with her "

"Yay…thank you, Naru!"

I walked out of base with Lin-san tailing me tightly. He didn't say a single word and I couldn't say whether he was being annoyed or indifferent about having to come with me.

Okazaki-kun's new room was at the end of the third floor. The door was open and I saw Aki sitting next to the bed, with a very pale Okazaki-kun curled between the sheets. His eyes were a little red and swollen…Poor kid…he was terrified. It was natural, for someone unfamiliar with the spirit stuff, that experience earlier must have been horrible.

Aki stood up as soon as we entered and she went straight to talk with Lin-san. I took this chance to move closer to Okazaki-kun and gently put my hand over his back.

"Hey…there, Okazaki-kun " I smiled at him " I think we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Taniyama Mai…"

"Uh…nice to meet you" he said trembling.

"Are you okay? I know the first time is horribly scary…" I continued.

"I don't want to die…" he muttered.

"Eh? Die….why would you die? Aki is staying by your side, she'll protect you. You won't die…"

"You don't understand!"he cried grabbing my hands. His eyes were wide open and filled with horror "They are going to take me, too! Just like they took the others…I'll die….I don't want to die!"

"They?" I whispered at him " You mean the voices?"

"You can hear them, too?" he said with a spark of hope "You can hear their mutters? I haven't stopped hearing them since I moved here… "

"Ehh? What have they said?"

"They keep calling me….telling me to find them…"

So they were calling for him…but why? I was about to say something when the lamp began to flicker. Lin-san and Aki had stopped talking and both were looking at the ceiling frowning. I saw Aki clenching her sword by her side; the lights went all off. I could hear the nurses outside rushing to check on other patients, and then…The rapping sounds began: knocking sounds all over the roof, it sounded like a big crowd running over our heads. Okazaki-kun looked me with panicked eyes.

" They're here…." He mumbled " No…no…please…I don't want to die!"

Before any of us could react, Okazaki-kun jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. I let out a soft cried and ran after him trying to stop him. I could hear Aki and Lin-san's steps behind me; but they sounded so far behind us.

Suddenly everything around seemed as if had disappeared, and the only two people left in the world were Okazaki-kun and I …


	44. SORRY!

Hello everyone...I know you were expecting an update...u.u, but anyway...i came to report myself. I have the chapter...but it's going slow...for two reasons...

ONE: College stuff is driving me nuts, beside that i have to cosplays to prepare...(yes i'm a cosplayer) .

TWO: I been having this awful headaches lately...i'm already getting medication but still, some days the pain is simply unbearable u.u. And that's quite affecting my focus on the writing...

Any way...I'm not planning on abandoning this story so don't worry i'm just asking for your patience.

Thank you guys for all and sorry again...u.u


	45. Chapter 45

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. III'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. WWell sorry to take long to uupdate I hope the chapter is written with no mistakes or at least acceptable…so if any of you fin anything stupid or bad written please report it to me…right now I'm feeling a bit ill…but since I haven't updated in a while I managed to write this chapter…

I hope that you're patient and comprehensive with me…

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before.

FILE #3: The One the mutters in your ear #9

"Okazaki-kun!" I called into the darkness, but as expected there was no reply. It had been like twenty minutes since I had lost track of Okazaki-kun in that unknown place.

The corridor in front of me was pure darkness. I could barely distinguish my surrounding even when my eyes had already gotten used to the dark. After the rapping sounds and the black out, Okazaki-kun had panicked…and ran off. I'd managed to keep on him until he walked up a bunch of stairs behind a door and ended up in this solitary dark corridor where I lost him.

The place was creepy enough to give me chills, many of the doors were absent from its frames, and instead there were plastic bags put as curtains, the corridor was empty and dusty and my footsteps echoed on the tiles. It seemed like a half built building. Perhaps we were in a part that was being remodeled.

"Okazaki-kun….! C'mon, let's head back. It's not safe in here"

My voice echoed against the walls, and I began to feel so cold; a coldness that I was a way to familiar with. My neck tensed and I hold my breath, almost as if I was worried someone might hear it. There was a faint sound coming form ahead. I wasn't sure what exactly it was…but whatever it was, it was definitely not good.

_Wheeeereee…..?_

I could have screamed. That voice was horribly scary, more than only one voice, it was a like a mix of voices, the same voices I kept hearing downstairs. I wanted to run away, but my legs wouldn't answer to my commands, I could only remain there trembling.

Suddenly, a white hand that glowed dimly with a ghostly light appeared in the darkness, almost as if was coming out from some other place, followed by something that looked like a giant mass of bodies. I could see limbs moving in strange angles and pale faces with empty looks all over it. I felt nauseous. That thing was so disturbing!

I had to run away, but I just couldn't move. Suddenly, I felt a strong pull on my arm, and I fell into one of the rooms on the side of the corridor. After recovering a little from the shock I realized that someone was kneeling in front of me. I barely noticed Rei's pale face in the darkness. She put her finger on her lips and gestured me to stay quiet.

_Where….?_

Rei's lips moved, but no sound came out of them. Immediately, I saw two of her shiki fly out of the room. The mass noticed their sudden presence and turned its ugly face following the dazes that moved around it.

The shiki were luring him away from us, and once the spirit was gone, I could finally recover my breath, and my heart started to pound normally again. I stared at Rei. For a strange reason, I could see her pretty well, even though the room was darker than the night. Her skin was so pale that it almost seemed to glow ...

"Rei?" I whispered.

The girl looked at me. She seemed tired, but as usual her expression was a serene as ever.

"How's that you always manage to get yourself into troubles eh?"she asked me.

"What?" I said frowning " I didn't get myself into trouble..." that was a lie, if she hadn't gotten there in time, only god knows what might have happened " I came here after Okazaki-kun, anyway...!"

"He...led you here?"

"Ehm...yes..." I replied " I followed him into this place. Whether he knew where he was going, I can't tell..."

"Oh boy..." Rei sighed while she scratched her head.

"Ne Rei...where are we?"

"This fourth floor from this hospital..." she replied dryly.

"Eh?The missing floor?" I said with wide eyes " I...I thought it was sealed!"

" It was...but not in the way we suspected..."

"What do you mean?"

"The floor was closed due to some issues, not because of superstition..."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"There was a fire 30 years ago...the entire building was burn down, including this wing. The place was abandoned for a couple years until the current owner bought it and rebuilt it some years ago. For a strange reason whenever they tried to finish this wing, the work wouldn't advance. By the end they decided to just leave it there...so they sealed this place and began building another complex over this one..."

"The reason they could fix it was...spirits?"

"Maybe..." Rei said " A fire is a violent death...it wouldn't be a surprise if the spirits of those who died in here were still trapped. Anyway...if they were...those spirits would most like have been absorbed by the Mizukokuji already..."

"The bodies...that were inside that mass..."

"Those are its most victims, probably...Don't worry, Okazaki wasn't among them..." she added watching my horrified face.

Rei stood up and shook off the dust from her clothes.

"How's that you're here?" I asked .

"I left Sakurei keeping an eye around here while I went to base some time after the black out. He told he'd seen you moving around the corridor like an easy pray...so I moved here immediately..."

"Oh...say thanks to Sakurei for me..."

Rei rolled her eyes.

"Let's go..."

"What? Where?"

"Dah...I'm taking you to base..."

"What? No way!" I cried out a little louder than I intended, making Rei shuu me down " You can't do about Okazaki?"

"I'll come back for him after I leave you in base..."

"No! He's out there completely alone, unprotected and hunted by a deformed wicked spirit. He might be dead before you can come back for him!"

"I'm sending you back alone. Knowing your luck...you'll run with the Mizukokuji yourselve before you can fin the way out..."

"Then the solution is obvious..."

"You're kidding, right?"

I shook my head.

"I'll obey you in all times and I promised I won't do anything stupid!"

"Why do I find that so hard to believe?"

"Tehee..."I smiled scratching my chin.

"Fine..."

Rei raised her hand and the pentagram pattern in front of me. The pentagram glowed with a dim blue light and I felt the light passing to my body .

"Now...that's a spell. It'll keep you invisible to anyone who might be lurking around as long as you stay quiet. So you better do, missy. Unless you'll have us all killed..."

I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped myself on time. If I couldn't speak...how was I supposed to tell Rei anything?

"Don't mind about that..." Rei said as if she could read my thoughts " As long as the spell is on, I can hear whatever you're thinking so...if you see anything weird you can tell me in that way..."

I nodded. Rei smiled and turned around. She raised her hand again and then a bunch of small blue flames lit surrounded us, lighting every spot around us.

' What's that?'

"Fox fire...it's the ability of one of my own shiki..." Rei replied " Let's go..."

Rei walked out from our hide out and followed her. The corridor was empty from both furniture and spirits. Under the dim blue light...the place seemed as cold as it felt. I watched Rei, who was walking by my side, and noticed, now with good light, that she seemed paler than usual and tired.

'You okay? To be honest you don't look that great...'

"Thanks?" she said frowning." I'm ok...all this mess about the Mizukokuji is tiring me a bit...that's all"

'Don't push yourself that much...you're not full heal, yet'

"Well, you should follow your own advice girl. Running around with a couple broken ribs isn't the greatest idea either..."

Rei was right. Running after Okazaki wasn't the smartest thing to do. Naru was probably furious, and to tell the truth i wasn't sure what was scarier...the ghost or Naru being angry.

"I wouldn't say he's angry...I'll rather say he's worried about you..."

I stopped on my heels. I'd forgotten that Rei could hear my thoughts. I could feel my face turning red.

My friend chuckled and checked the rooms one by one while I followed her. Rei stopped in front of one of the door less rooms. Her face became dark and i could see her lips pressed tightly. I walked to her side and looked inside. An awful chill run up my spine, all my muscles froze and my eyes became blurry. I wanted to scream and cry out loud. Rei moved in front of my blocking my view.

Inside the room...was nothing, but a lonely body covered in blood and cut in a half. The injuries had made its face almost unrecognizable, somehow I knew who it was...We've been too late...

Thanks for reading. Sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoy the chapter.


	46. Chapter 46

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**It's been ages since I updated I know. Sorry so sorry! But I'm starting vacation now so I've got more time to spare. Here's another chapter. This case is almost done I hope to finish it soon**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: The One the mutters in your ear #10**

"He can't be dead..."I thought with my eyes sinking into Rei' s chest; I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks. She had moved in front of me making sure to block my view of the horrible scene. Had we been really that late?

I felt my knees getting weak and slowly giving up to my weight. Now it wasn't only me who was silent, it was almost like even the walls were mourning him.

"Kei...are you in there?" Rei's voice sounded so distant.

"Sorry..."Kei replied "I was finishing with the counter curse. What's up?"

"Found Okazaki..."

" Great news...bring him back...we found the location of the vase. Get him back and we can dispose of the curse for good..."

"He's dead..."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"...What?..."

"I guess we were too late...something found him before I could."

"The curse...?"

Suddenly, I began feeling strange. My eyelids began to close and the twins began to sound so distant that I couldn't make what they were saying clearly anymore.

"Mai..." that familiar voice I'd gotten so used to hear now.

I saw a pair of black shoes in front of me. When I raised my look, I found Gene staring at me sadly. Did I fall sleep? It wasn't the best moment to sleep, was it?

"Gene..."

"Mai...it's dangerous there you must get out from... you and your friend"

"Dangerous because of the ghost, you mean?"

Gene shook his head.

"It might be worse than that…"

I watched him puzzled. What could be worse than the ghost?

"Get out of there soon..." he begged me " Go back to Noll…"

Gene began to retreat slowly, becoming farther and farther every minute-

I felt something hitting my head. I snapped out only to find myself lying on the floor of the empty corridor. The tiles were as cold as ice underneath me, but how had I gotten there? I touched my forehead with the tips of my fingers and found blood. I wasn't serious, may be just a cut.

"Who are you?"I heard Rei's voice saying in rare cold voice.

"That's something you don't need to know" another voice replied. It was a male's and it kind of sounded familiar, but I just couldn't make it out.

"It concerns me …as an onmyouji. I can't ignore what you've been doing…"

"Oh? And what would that be?"

I peeked into the room. Rei was standing in front of the door frame, and I saw a black form from over her shoulder. I recognized it at once. The same black cloak and the _Hanya_ mask. He was the one in my dream, the one who buried the curse…the one who set all these…

"Don't play with me…" Rei said annoyed "You set this curse free…and you killed that boy…you're actions are despicable! I can't think of a fair reason to excuse your actions…!"

"I don't need to excuse myself…I'm just doing my job…honorably"

"How's killing innocent people honorable…"

"I just do what I'm paid for…"

"You're a shame to all of the onmyouji…"

"Why ?…I'm not too different from you; As long as the requester pays…I'll fulfill his request…"

"You disgust me…" Rei said coldly.

"Do I? Then you should be disgusted of yourself as well…"the masked man said in annoying playful voice. I could picture him smirking behind that awful mask " We're not that different, are we?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We are nothing but mere tools to other's wishes. We do whatever we're asked in exchange of a payment. It's not different for the Abe Clan…"

"Oh…so you do know me…"

"There's no onmyouji in Japan, who wouldn't recognize an Abe…" The man in the black cloack began to walk around Rei, almost as if he was examining Rei carefully " Your looks, your power…every single detail betrays you…"

"The fact that you know the Abe name won't change the facts. You released a dangerous curse in a hospital and killed an innocent boy in such horrible manner and with your bare hands. You're actions must be chastised"

"Don't blame me for other's cruelty and selfishness. My task was simply fulfill my client's wishes…if there's someone you ought to criticize that'll be him, wouldn't it?"

"You accepted this task…you should have rejected it from the very beginning. You're not as innocent as you claim to be"

"Money is money…isn't it?"

"Bastard…." Rei said angrily" Reveal your name!"

"I never reveal my name in the very first day" he replied scornfully " and…you know, is pretty impolite to eavesdrop…"

The mask's empty eyes sank on me. What happened next was a way too fast. The masked man stretched his harm pointing at me. A bunch of white lights, most likely _shikigami_, flew directly at me.

Rei reacted immediately, putting herself in front at me and deflecting the white dazes.

"Mai…Get out of here…"

"But I…"

"Get out….and don't do anything stupid! Just run…go back to Kei and the others. Don't try to play the exorcist…clear?"

Rei's expression was so not like her. Her look was cold and threatening. It was the first time I'd seen her that angry, which meant…I should not disobey her. I got up in a jump and ran out of the room. I heard a loud whistle behind me, (just like Lin-san's). Three of the light orbs rushed after me; I could feel the threatening presence catching up with me. They were fast! Damn onmyouji and their shiki!

Suddenly I heard a loud crash, and felt my body freeze. The temperature was dropping really fast, and that could only mean one thing, my body and my guts were telling me; the spirit was coming; my heart was pounding terrified telling me to keep running as crazy, when an intense roar echoed against the walls from the corridor; and then there were some other noises: nasty noises.

I turned my head slowly and just as I expected, the gigantic mass of flesh was there. It looked nastier and bigger than before. The numerous pale arms moved grotesquely in all directions, and I realized one of them had caught one of the light orbs. The shiki was fighting desperately to break free, but to my horror, the spirit began to devour each of the shiki., one by one.

It was horrible…it made me want to cry, seeing those spirits being eaten, like that; it was too cruel…too sad…. I shook my head…if I didn't hurry I'd suffer the same fate as them. I turned and began running again, hoping that the ghost wasn't chasing me too. I saw a glow at the end of the corridor. It had to be the exit; it had to…

I began to run as I'd never ran before, but before I managed to realize what was going on I felt my body crashing against something warm and everything around me went blank.


	47. Chapter 47

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Thanks to Barajou29 and Ariana Taniyama for the reviews. I'm glad to know you remain loyal to the story. I hope not to disappoint you all!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: The One the mutters in your ear #11**

"Mai...good lord you seem agitated" a male voice said. My heart was beating a mile per hour and muy breathing was heavy and slow. Of course I was agitated, I had been running like never before, hadn't I?  
I raised my look just to find Bou-san kneeling infront of me, behind him I saw Ayako, John and Masako standing right behind of them holding torches.  
"oh...smart observation, stupid monk. You should be asking if she's hurt!"  
"I was getting there, hold hag..."  
"Who you call old hag idiot?!"  
"it might not be the time for this Matsuzaki-san...Takigawa-san" John's commented with a shy smile..  
"Let it be... that's the only useful thing she's capable to do..."Masako's voice replied.  
"What did you say? You're not doing anything useful either,, Masako"  
"Ehmm...guys, I know you are enjoying yourselves but...we have and issue here..."  
That was Kei. He was standing behind me with Aki by his side. He was wearing his old japanese outfit and carrying something big wrapped in a crimson red cloth and tied with a sort _Shimenawa_(1) rope. Somehow, I knew what it was.  
Naru was standing close to him, his black clothes almost made his body invisible, the only really visible was his pale skin; right behind him...Lin-san stood quiet as always.  
"Stop wasting time or I'll cut everyone's pay..." Naru's cold voice said interrupting their soon to come bickering. "Kei-san...are you ready?"  
"Surely...It's now or never... The Mizukokuji is trapped by my barrier, but it might not last too long...That thing is too big. I don't know how...but it's grown so much in such little time..."  
"It's because it ate them..." I muttered.  
"What did you say, Jou-chan?" Bou-san asked.  
"It's because it ate the _shiki_ from that man..." I replied "That's why it grew so much..."  
"Shiki? " Naru said raising his eyebrow " What man are you talking about?"  
"The man of my dream...he's here. He's fighting with Rei!"  
"Fighting?"Kei snapped " Oh boy...not good. We need to exorcise this spirit and stop my idiotic twin before it turns bad. All right...I 'll start with it. You guys...get ready for a marathon of exorcism..."  
"EH? Why is that?" I asked puzzled.  
"Kei-san explained it to us while you were gone..." John said " When Kei-san is exorcising the main spirit it'll use the spirits it'd asorbed as shields..."  
"So our job is to exorcise the other ghosts until Kei finishes with the curse..."  
"Oh..." I said " good luck!"  
"Yeah...you keep yourself out of troubles, would you?"Kei said. He took a deep breath as he set the wrapped thing on the floor " Let's begin... remember your tasks"  
He sat down with a very straight and stern posture, his eyes firmly closed; he raised his hand and traced the pentagram in the air.  
The air suddenly changed. It was a funnt sensation, it felt as it had suddenly lighten and become purer. It was pretty much similar to the sensation that Ayako's purifying ritual caused.  
"on sarabatataagyata hanna mannanau kyaromi..._on sarabatataagyata hanna mannanau kyaromi..."_  
The room was suddenly filled with rapping sounds and cries. I covered my ears; the sound was unberieable. I glanced at Masako; she was so pale and she seemed in pain. I could understand...those spirits were suffering so much.  
"_Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradan Kan...!"_  
"Rin Pyo To Zha..."  
"In the beginning..."  
The room was suddenly filled with all the chantings. One by one the spirits were disappearing, to a better place, I hoped. The giant mass was growing smaller, little by little until it finally became a small red baby. It laid in the floor writhing and crying.  
It looked so sad...such a little child turned into a horrible beast. It simply wasn't right.  
_"On Datagatonaubebaya Sowaka" _Kei chanted the last words of his spell and suddenly the wrapped vase broke into blue flames. The small baby's cries became louder and louder and the floor began to tremble as the vase burned down into baby dissapeared as well, and everything finally became quiet.  
Kei stood up shaking of the dust from his clothes and sighe.  
"The curse has been broken. The mizukokuji is gone..." He said to Naru.  
He nodded. It was over, those spirit would finally rest in peace. A sudden cold feeling run down my spine.  
"NARU!" Masako cried out covering her mouth; she had turned paler (if that was even possible) and she looked like she would pass out any time soon " Something strange is happening! There's an incredibly amount of spiritual energy running out from that direction.."  
"Oh...crap!" Kei said " It's already this grave...we gotta stop them...before they open the Devil's Gate..."  
Kei rushed in the direction that Masako had just pointed. I looked at my friends, but they were as puzzled as I was.  
"What's wrong with the boy?" Bou-san asked scratching his head.  
"If the door opens...this hospital is doomed" Aki reply.  
"Why would it open?" Ayako asked.  
"Due to the crash of energies...when two especially strong spiritual energy collides a crack in time and space will appear. If that crack remains open too long...the spirits on the other side may use it as a Kimon Door...to cross into this world. Once it's cracked is hardly almost impossible to fix..."  
"WHAT?" we all snapped; even Naru's look seemed shocked.  
"How the hell did that happen? WHose energy is colliding?" Bou-san shouted.  
"Mai said Rei was fighting another onmyouji. If he was strong enough to summon such a strong curse, his power must be above any average onmyouji. Enough to match the twins'. "  
"So they battling is causing a kimon door to open?" John asked " We must stop them!"  
Aki nodded.  
"This way..."  
We all run down the corridor just as Kei had done. Our steps echoing in the empty corridor. A pink glow passed by my side : Sakuya. It was one of the shinsho...It wanted us to follow it.  
"This way!" I shouted turning left. Everyone seemed puzzled, but they obediently followed me.  
We finally arrived to one of the rooms. It was especially bigger than the others, and blue circle of flames was surrounding to figures: one was the masked man and the other was Rei. Both of them were linked by something that looked like a golden thread.  
Rei's hair had gotten loose and it was flying in all directions giving her a scary look. She looked like one of those ghostly maidens that appeared in those old ghost films I had to watch in one my college classes. Her eyes looked different, they had turned from deep gray color into a paler gray; even her hair seemed to have turned gray... What was happening to her?  
"Rei..."I muttered.  
"Curses! Stop it now...!" Kei shouted cutting the golden thread with such a force that the man in black and Rei were sent flying apart. The circle of flames disappeared and the room fell into a deep darkness.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. With this I'm glad to announce that:**

File #3: The one who mutters in your ear

CASE CLOSED

**Next to go would be the epilogue and this case is finally over. I hope you liked it… n.n**  
**(1)Shimenawa: its a sacred rope used in shinto; it can be used to describe sacred points or sealing.**


	48. Chapter 48: EPILOGUE

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Well Yeah this case is over (FINALLY) it took me forever. Sorry for that n.n".**

**I want to ask you all something… would you like me to keep writing more cases? If so…do you want them in this same story or in a story apart? ( Like a sequel) please tell me your suggestion. Until the next tiem **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #3: The One the mutters in your ear EPILOGUE**

"Here...this is the last one!" I said cheerfully as I put the last box on the back of the van.  
"Yo...jou-chan. You really didn't have to help with this. Are you recovered at all?" Bou-san said messing with my hair.  
"Yah...Bou-san! I'm perfectly fine now. After all I've been discharged..." I replied cheerfully sitting on one of the boxes" I was glad that Dr. Yoshi came back; tobe honest Dr. Tsumugi made me nervous..."  
"Yeah...strange thing that he suddenly quited, right?" Yasuhara said sitting by my side. " don't you find it suspicious?"  
"Suspcious?"  
"Yeah...when everything calms down, he simply disappears...strange huh?"Yasuhara commented.  
"Now that you mention it..." Bou-san said rubbing his chin. "Weird thing..."  
"Uhm..." I said thinking.  
"Mai... stop slacking around. You've slacked enough already..." Naru said.  
"Naru!" I replied surprised " When did you...?"  
"Get out of the way..." Naru said.  
"What? Hey Naru that's rude!" I complained.  
"Mai...you're on one of the boxes..." he replied calmly.  
"Eh?"  
I got up in a jump while Naru picked the box and put it into the van.  
"That's all..." he said " We should leave..."  
"Woah...So soon?" Bou-san asked "Shouldn't we wait for news about the twins first?"  
"They went home already..." Naru replied simply as he opened the door of the van " Let's move...You're wasting my time..."  
"Oi Naru!" I said annoyed as I followed him.  
That's right after the incidents in the fourth floor, I hadn't seen Kei nor Rei. They had left in a rush before anyone could ask anything. I knew they'd returned to Kyoto, Kei had said so when he called us the next day; he'd also said they we shouldn't worry; that Rei would be okay; but somehow I was still worried. I wasn't sure what had happened back there, but…the image of Rei that night was stuck in my head. She had looked so…not like her, almost inhuman. Kei kept saying that he would explain in some other time, but that for now we shouldn't think much of it. That if it was possible we tried to find the man with the demon mask; what was important now was that we caught the real culprit of this case; but the masked man had disappeared as sudden as he'd appeared. There was no sign of him after the incident; no matter how much we searched. It was like he'd disappeared into the air. Without him, there was no chance to find the real mind behind all the curse thing. Luckily, Naru had figured out who was the person who requested the curse. Apparently, the owner of the hospital had been interested on expanding the building, but to do so, he needed to demolish the orphanage. The owner of the place, a kind lady name Ume, had refused the offer of saling the place and so the man had most likely relaid on the onmyouji to give him a chance to have the property. According to Naru, there was not better way to force the woman to sale than leaving the place without children.  
I had not idea how Naru managed to to figure that much out. Some days later, there was a new that said the the owner of the hospital had died due to a sudden disease. May be it had been the souls from all those children who died that came to charge him. Who knows...  
I looked at Naru. He was focused in his notes and wasn't paying any attention to the changing landscape outside the window.  
I smiled. So typical of Naru; not paying attention to anything but his work; so different from me.  
I closed my eyes, trying to picture Naru doing something different from what he would usually do...and little by little, I snoozed off into a fleeting summer dream.


	49. Chapter 49

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. **

**Well…I was giving time for everyone to give me your opinions, but I didn't get many so…I'll continue with case 4 in the same story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow: PROLOGUE**

_It felt…so cold…_

_I was standing the middle of some sort of ancient garden. Everything was dark, there was no light at all…the weird thing was…I didn't seem to have troubles seeing what surrounded me. There were some _Jizo_ statues pilled in rows, some of them were a little cracked and worn out; they were probably very old. I rubbed my arms and I saw my own breath as a dim steam; it was so cold. Suddenly, a curtain of small white flakes began to fall on me wetting my clothes as they touched it. _

_Snow? That couldn't be right…we were barely by the end of summer; it couldn't be snowing now…could it?_

_The sudden sound of taming chimes woke me from my musings about the weather. What could that be? It sounded distant…but it seemed to be getting closer…_

_I looked around me... all I saw was a closed double wooden door, right across the _Jizo _ statues; the rest of the garden was surrounded by shoji walls; so this was a inner garden…wasn't it?_

_A sudden light appeared behind one of the panels… a black shadow cast by the sudden light was scored against the rice paper from the panel. I felt the chills running down my back even though I couldn't distinguish whose shadow this was, nor even if it was a male's or a female's. The shadow began to move with slow steps, the light moving along with it. _

_My heart suddenly dropped. The shadow was heading to the wooden door; once it opened it…I'd find myself face to face with the owner of that shadow… and for some reason…the simple idea scared the hell out of me…_

_I looked around me, desperately trying to find some possible way of escaping; but there was none. The place only had one entrance-exit._

_The shadow had disappeared from view, and the door tremble a little as the person behind it tried to push it open. I swallowed, as the tension in me began to build up. My anxiety was mixing up with the curiosity of knowing whose shadow that was…_

_The door opened with a soft and creepy "crack# and then…._

"Mai" a voice whispered as I was being shaken awake gently.

My eyes opened lazily. I found myself curled on my sit next to the window; I relized that the bus had stopped moving, so it'd been a dream…that explained a lot, I thought as I stretched my arms over my head.

"Hey there, Hikaru-chan…" I smiled " What's up?"

"Are you ok? Your breathing was a little heavy and your heart sounded pretty rushed…"

"Woah…was my heart pounding that loud?" I asked rubbing the back of my head embarrassed.

"Not really…but you know what they say…when you are blind, your other senses become sharper…" Hikaru replied lowering her shoulders "Are you ok? Were you having one of those dreams?"

"Eh? Oh…I don't think so…I mean. I'm not even there so…I guess probably not. It seemed more like a regular dream….a regular stressing dream. "

"Are you sure? Even if you are not physically there…part of your mind is still attached to them, so you could probably feel it …"

"That sounds like something complicated…" I laughed " Nah…Naru and the gang are handling this case without me…My head is full into this trip…"

That was right. This time I wouldn't be with them for this case. It all four weeks after we returned from our case in the hospital.

"Field work?" Ayako asked as she dusted off her hands after hitting Bou-san for one of his not so gallant comments.

"That's right…" I replied while I opened the tap and filled the kettle with the cold water "We'll be out for a week. We're heading to Kyoto…"

"Kyoto again, heh?" Yasuhara said piling some files " What kind of field work are you doing back in Kyoto?"

"Well you know that Kyoto has a lot of history in its background. With that much history there are a lot of rumors and stories about haunted places around the city…" I replied putting a measured spoon of tea leaves into the teapot.

"You two are going ghost hunting without us?" Bou-san said accusingly. He was still rubbing his head, right in the spot where Ayako had hit him.

"Of course not" I said frowning.

"We are only meant to visit some places and research a little…" Hikaru replied courteous " Don't worry, most of the haunting in those places are mere rumors…or at least not serious enough to be consider dangerous. Otherwise, the Abe Clan would had already taken care of it…"

"Now that you mention it…back then during the festival case, I heard that they had quite a name in that prefecture…." Yasuhara commented " Any minimal supernatural issue would be brought to them…"

"The Abe name is quite famous…"I replied " That's just natural."

"So they're the only family in Kyoto that does that?" John asked curiously.

"No…that's not it. There are other three clans…" Hikaru replied "The Sasaki clan and the Ashiya Clan. The Sasaki Clan, though, rarely perform requested missions…they tend to be strict with the cases they agree to take…as long as the Ashiya Clan; they aren't that specialized into cleansings and exorcism…they focus more on fortune telling…."

"Or that's what they say…" I added " Anyway…this is a great chance for us to see this places, many of those place aren't haunted by human souls. There are many legends involving ayakashi, monoke...even Kamis (1)"

"Woah…that almost made Mai sound smart!" Yasuhara laughed.

"HEY!"

There was a regular laugh.

"Even if those places aren't really haunted…there might be one that are; so you two better take this with you…" Ayako said giving us two of her protective charms "Better safe than sorry"

We thanked Ayako for the charms with a bow.

"Well…this is depressing. Our team seems to have been decimated for this case…"Bou-san lamented " You two are out because of that trip, and the twins aren't joining us either…"

That was true. Rei hadn't returned to college or to SPR since the hospital case. Kei had said she was okay; she just needed time to" re-adjust" herself. I really didn't get what he meant with those words though. Re-adjust to what? Kei did come back, but apparently, he was called home for that date too, so he wouldn't be in the case either.

"Oh…c'mon. There's not much to lament…" I said " You've got Aki…and that's better than anything…"

"Don't say that, Mai-chan…" John said smiling " Your dreams are really a key for solving the cases…."

I blushed with John's words.

"Besides…I'm sure it's nothing serious…" Ayako said " It's definitely an earth spirit…all the phenomena points to it!"

"Honestly, woman…." Bou-san said " If I got 10yuan for each of the times you say that I get it wrong, I'd be billionaire… AHG!" he added when Ayako hit him again.

"Forget about the ghost…" Yasuhara said " I know something that's creepier thant that!"

The rest of us looked him puzzled. Yasuhara giggled and lowered his voice.

"Shibuya-san out of Mai's special made tea for a week…." He replied " GOD BLESS US!"

We all laughed. Somewhere behind our laughter, I heard the subject of the joke complaining about his delayed tea. I rushed to delivered with a wide silly grin…

A week later, I was here, sitting in bus with Hikaru and heading to Kyoto.

I was really excited about this trip; I'd learned a lot about the places in Kyoto during class…but there was nothing better than seeing the real thing.

"Anyway…" I said cheerfully " Why did you wake me up? Were you worried that I was having one of those?"

"Not really…it's because we arrived to the hotel…"

"Ehhh?" I snapped " Did I actually sleep that much?"

Hikaru nodded.

"Oh well…let's get off. I really need to stretch my limbs…hehe"

Hikaru and I got off from the bus with the rest of the class. Our hotel was a traditional inn with the nice sliding doors and shiny polished floors. The main entrance had a cute Tanuki statue and a giant wooden plate with the name of the place.

"Attention please!" a female voice called on us. It was our teacher: Shinase Sayuri " Okay…I'll give the general instructions for this trip. The first thing we all do is leaving your belongings in you assigned rooms. You'll sleep in pairs ok? Now after that, we'll start working on the assignment…"

A group of 4 people appeared behind of her. They were all wearing semi-formal clothes and seemed cordial; after each of their introductions the teacher spoke again.

"This people are local folklorists…"Shinase said " Each of the working pairs will receive a yellow envelope like this one in here" she added showing us one " The envelopes are closed and it'll be given randomly to you. Inside you'll find the name of one of the most popular haunted places in the city. What will you do with that? It's simple…I want you to go there and do all the research possible…ask around, look into the library…whatever. By the end of the week I'll be checking the compiled information, and then you'll hand out a complete report for our next class….clear?"

There was a chorus of yes.

"Very well…then… You'll be called by each of our companions, so please go pick your envelope when you hear your name…"

Each team was called one by one. I saw the pile of yellow envelopes under each of the men arms growing thinner and thinner…

" Taiyama Mai…!"

"Here!"

I walked to the man with dark brown hair and glasses. There was something strange on him….something that made him familiar, but I couldn't tell what….

"Ehm…excuse me…" I said shyly " Have we met before?"

"Uhm…I don't think so…." The man replied as dig between the envelopes. Even his voice sounded familiar "Here….I think you might enjoy this one, Taniyama-san…."

I took the envelope from him and looked him puzzled. What was that supposed to mean?

"Excuse me?"

"Have fun….Taniyama-san" he smiled at me. Such a cold smile! It could almost match Naru's glare…

I looked away and rushed back to Hikaru. What was wrong with that guy?

"Everything all right, Mai?"

"Eh? Oh yeah…." I replied " Let's see what we got…."

I opened the enveloped. Inside of it was a map and a bunch of pictures. My heart almost stops when I saw the first one: some _jizo _statues lined up in rows, shiji panels and a big double door….

Once more…I'd done it again….

**And that's case file 4, my friends, I hope this prologue got your attention. Let's see if anyone can guess who's the featured ghost in this story…;P**

**Thanks for reading! 3**

**(1) Name given to many of the creatures in Japanese folklore. **


	50. Chapter 50

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation**

**Happy holidays! I've been really busy with all this holidays preparations; Beside I had that cosplay parade I was participating in, so I hadn't had time to update**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #1**

"You dreamt…what?" Hikaru said as we were unpacking our stuff in the room we had been assigned to "I thought you said it'd been a regular dream!"

It was true, I'd said that, but whether I was or not, I was no longer sure of it.

"I was…" I said " At least I thought it was…"  
I'd been checking the picture over and over since I first took it out from the envelope. My look traveled from the many jizo statues from a corner of the frame to the wooden door at the opposite side. I was almost expecting the shadow to come out from the image…

I shook my head to clear up my mind and sighed.

"May be we're getting ourselves worked up for no reason…" I said " I mean…nothing really important happened in that dream…may be I saw this place somewhere before and I casually dreamt with it, right?"

I knew better than anyone how much a lie that was. Never in my life had I seen that place nor heard of it. How the hell would I know it existed before hand?

"Mmmm…I don't know, Mai…" Hikaru said bitting her lower lip " Ok…let's do this. We'll take a look at the place; if we confirm the presence of spirit…we call out for help…."

"I guess…that's reasonable… Naru will probably throw the phone at me if I call him for something as silly as this, though..…"

"Don't say that….if it means something dangerous, he'll be here right away…" Hikaru said " He really does care about you, after all…"

"Yeah…I know he does…but I also know, that he won't take a case if it's nothing interesting…." I said rolling my eyes " Anyway….shall we go take a look…?"

"Yes…We still need to find the way"

"That's right….Let's go!"

We left the inn charging with a camera, a map and a notepad. Outside, the weather was awfully hot, and even though it wasn't midday yet, the sun was already high in the sky. The air was filled with by the smell of dried grass and the sounds of the cicadas crying from all directions.

We weren't exactly in the country side, but this wasn't exactly the main city either. Most of the oldest buildings in Kyoto remained in the outskirts from the main city, so this place was technically between the rural and the urban image of the prefecture.

"If I'm not wrong…Kei and Rei lived in a part of Kyoto that was pretty much like here, right?" I said while I looked around us.

"I guess so…The Abe manor is probably and old building, too…" Hikaru observed " It should be somewhere around this parts; but I believe our location is a little farther from the city…right?"

"Just a little bit more ahead, I think…should we take a ride?" I said " I feel like walking though…all those hours of bus rides are still stuck on my legs…"

"I feel like that as well. I think it's better if we walk…"

"Ok…!"

We walked around for a little more, the house was nowhere to be seen. We stopped in side road sushi local to ask for directions. The couple that lived here seemed a little puzzled when we showed them the place and the pictures, but they told us to keep walking a couple streets more. After some minutes under the burning sun, we finally found the building. The manor was practically ruins. Most of the façade had fallen apart.

"Yike….it doesn't look well, right?" I said " Do you think it's safe to enter? I really don't want to end up buried under a mountain of debris"

"By the quick scan I made…it looks pretty stable. I think as long as we watch our steps there shouldn't be problems…"

"All right! Let's go…Hikaru-chan"

I grabbed Hikaru's arm and helped her to get into the manor. The main wall had fallen down so the insides were wide open to the outside. The undergrowth covered the floor, part of the walls, stairs... but thankfully, just as Hikaru had said, the floor was quite solid and the main columns were fine.

" Well…Here we are…"I said " It's not really cozy, is it? I guess it suits for a haunted place… What do you say?"

Hikaru turned her head around; it almost looked like she could see what's around us.

"It's clean…" she replied quietly "I don't feel any spiritual presence. It feels empty, so empty that it kind of feels wrong…."

"So…no ghost?"

"No…the only presence I feel is you, Mai…"

"Thanks to goodness…" I sighed.

Knowing that there was no ghost around, made me feel better. I was glad that my dream was nothing more than a dream. It was truly relieving.

"Okay…" I said taking out the camera " I'll got take some pictures, you stay here and do your psychic scan of this place. I think a map would be useful"

"Very well, Mai….be careful"

I left Hikaru sitting there drawing, while I walked around taking pictures. If Hikaru said there wasn't any ghost there, I guess I could feel safer. I took pictures of every corner of the room, I didn't want to get too far from Hikaru, and besides I was still a little nervous; paranoia maybe?

I laughed of my own feelings when I saw a dark shadow move close to me with the corner of my eye. My heart began beating faster; the flashbacks from my dream filled my head…

"Mai!" Hikaru voice called me " Are you okay?"

"Eh…What? Oh yeah…I was just…spacing out…that's all" I laughed. There was nothing more than plants and wood pieces there. I shook my head and returned to Hikaru " What's up?"

"Nothing…I finished this. I was thinking that maybe…we should ask around the neighborhood. May be someone can tell us something about the rumors…"

"Sounds like a good idea…"

It was nice to be outside once again; I was glad to leave. The sun was hotter than before, making the interviews a lot harder to bear. The interviews didn't go as well as we had wished. No one seemed to know much about the rumors of the so said shrine ruins. Most of the locals were relative recent and they had only known of the existence of the shrine when the workers casually discovered it while they were building a new road.

"Oh, boy…"I sighed. The interviews were not useful at all "How's that no one knows anything about this? This report is going to be harder than I thought…"

"Should we ask the teacher?" Hikaru said.

"No way! We would probably lose points if we do that" I said shaking my head " I think we 're asking the wrong people. We should try with older people; people that have lived here their whole life…"

Hikaru nodded; that's how our intense search for the background of our case began. The hours passed and by the end of the day, we were in our room reviewing the collected data. We had a small board filled with papers, post-it and other stuff. Hikaru was putting more details into our map, while I was checking the pictures I'd taken.

I was passing some random pictures of a broken window, when my hand froze and my eyes went wide.

The picture was clear; it was a photo of a hallway, and right down the hall, there was something. It was barely visible, but it was clear enough to distinguish it. It was a man, or well, the shade of a man. I couldn't make out his face, but his body was clear enough. It was impossible; there was no one there when I took the picture, I was sure, and Hikaru said there was no ghost...but then, who was that?

"Mai….are you okay?" Hikaru called at me " Your aura suddenly changed. Did something happen?"

"You won't believe it…"


	51. Chapter 51

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation**

**Happy late new year! (?) This is the first chapter of this year…Wow, I never thought I would stand with a fanfic for so long. I have to thanks all the followers who remain loyal…sorry if I haven't achieved your perspectives with any of the cases…I'll do my best for future cases! ./ well….if you want future cases of course….**

**OH, I've taken as a new year goal to keep my blog updated. So if you're interested on contacting me or following me you can visit my blog: nomechan .blogspot. com**

**Anyway…Enjoy this chapter**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #2**

"I'm sure there was no one there when I took the picture…"I said some time after I checked every picture of the ruined manor. Up until now I'd found my mysterious man in three pictures; a misty woman in one and a strange looking shade in five. It was a quite a significant number of supernatural pictures, taking in count that we had taken at least fifteen pictures at the spots we'd visited today.

We were eating dinner in our room, it wasn't a fancy dinner: mushroom soup, white rice, sour-sweet tuna and hiyashi-wakame (**1). **It wasn't a poor dinner but it wasn't luxurious, either.

"And you didn't feel any presence, so we can be sure there was no one there….not alive nor dead, right?"

"Uh….yes, I never felt any change back then….but who are the people in the picture then?"

"I wish I knew….but they can't be ghosts, can they? I mean…it's impossible that there was a ghost and you didn't notice….or isn't it?"

"May be I didn't feel it…" Hikaru said " I have psychic abilities, but I can make mistakes. Should ask for assistance?"

"Geez…it hasn't been a day since we left Tokyo. Naru and the others are still busy with the case. Naru would kill me if I interrupted him with ghosts we aren't even sure of…"

"Yes….Shibuya-san will give priority to his current case. Then perhaps Kei and Rei?"

"Kei said he had to attend some business. Will it be okay to call him for help?"

"I believe, it's the wisest decision…" Hikaru said putting down her bowl "we don't know. It could be dangerous. If it's a ghost whose presence we can't detect…."

"Uh….I guess you're right" I sighed.

I pulled out my mobile and pressed Kei's speed dial. I played with my chopsticks while I listened the dial tune.

"Hello…?"

"Kei! Hi….! Wait a second, I'll put on speaker…. there"

"Hello, Kei" Hikaru said politely.

" What's up? I thought you were busy in your school trip…"

"Eh…yeah, kind of; we had some issues though…" I said shyly "Do you happen to be free, by any chance?"

"Eh? Well yeah. Why?"

"Ehm….something happened….we were wondering, if you could come and take a look?"

"I guess I can; but what happened?"

"We were given an old ruined shrine to investigate. Hikaru made a psychic check on it, and found any spirit; so we assumed that the haunting was made up; we took some picture to use as reference in our search. Back then we didn't see anything, but when we checked it later….there were ghostly images on some of them."

"Ghost images?" Kei 's voice sounded quite bemused " And you say Hikaru didn't feel any presence"

"There was no presence in that place beside us, not living nor dead. It was totally empty." Hikaru said.

"Well…that's weird. What is that place, anyway?"

"We're trying to figure that out…."I said.

"We haven't had luck, though…" Hikaru added " It's like it never existed…"

"Haven't you tried asking the teacher?"

"Not an option…besides, it wasn't the teacher who gave it to me…" I said.

"Who was it then?"

"One of the local tutors…" Hikaru said.

"I see….Well, we keep records of all the buildings in Kyoto since the Heian. Mail me the place and I'll look in our archive…. I might get you something useful…"

"That would be great….thanks! Will you come check it? We're planning to visit again tomorrow…"

"Ok…you tell the meeting point"

"What about the new road in the western side of the town" Hikaru suggested " You know, the one they were building…."

"Oh! The west , let's met there. Rei could use a little trip…Aggh!"

"You okay, Kei?"I asked puzzle.

"Yeah….Rei just hit me…but I'm fine"

"Eh? Why would she hit you?"

"Long story…we'll be there. See you tomorrow…"

Kei hung up, and I sighed. Well Kei would help us, and we'd get to meet Rei as well. Things would be okay, if there was a ghost, they would take care of it.

"Well…that's settled…" Hikaru said " Mai…have you called Takigawa-san, yet?"

"Ohhhh! I forgot! Bou-san will hate me for this! I'm going to call him right away!"

I took my mobile and ran out of the room. Hikaru was left behind laughing softly.

"It official! My Jou-chan forgot about me!" Takigawa cried out dramatically "Or perhaps something very, very bad happened and she's unable to call me!"

"You're being paranoid, idiotic monk! " Ayako said sitting in the couch " Ne, Naru! This case is leading to nowhere…"

"Matsuzaki-san is right, Boss; there's no important background for the house, and nothing out of the normal has happened in the whole day. Temperatures are normal…" Yasuhara commented.

"Well…it might be poltergeist phenomena, right?" John said reasonably " Yoko-chan has the right age, and she has been the main victim of the activity after all…"

"We'll try the test and see what happens…" Naru said without taking off his look from his notes.

The sound of a mobile phone made all the presents jump, well, almost all. Takigawa took the phone out from his pocket and checked the caller ID. His eyes lit up as he rushed to pick up.

"Jou-chan! Everything fine there?"

"Oh, yes. Yes of course…we were quite busy though. You know…searching and that. How's the case doing?"

"What can I say? Not our most interesting case I can assure you. I guess ghost doesn't like us if you're not her, Jou-chan…Auch!"

Ayako had hit him and grabbed the phone.

"Maiiii!" she said happily to the phone making Naru frown" You got us worried. How's everything in Kyoto?"

"Oh…it's nice…and hot, Ayako"

"Don't push yourselves too much! Once this case is solved we'll go visit" Ayako said ignoring Naru evident glare.

"Oh…you really don't need to do that…" Mai laughed nervously " Naru won't like his staff leaving work for a pleasure trip. We'll be okay…it's only a week…"

"I don't care what Naru thinks…we'll be there; so you better keep yourselves sane and safe, kay?" Ayako said more like threat than anything else "So how's it going? Got a nice haunted place for your project…?"

"We are not sure…" Mai said frankly " Don't worry…it's nothing really…hehe…"

"We aren't sure if it _is _haunted. Hikaru-chan didn't sense anything when we visited today."

"Well that's great. I won't have to worry about ghost hunting you down then…"Ayako sighed in relief "Don't doubt on giving us a call. No matter what time..."

"Haha...it's not like I'll fall dead anytime, Ayako; but I'll keep that in mind..." Mai said feeling a little guilty to the fact that she wasn't being honest to them; but they were in a case now, and all their energies were meant to focus on it. Her ghost picture was a little issue; and the twins would help, too " It's getting late...I need to be early tomorrow...I have a lot of research to do..."

"Okay...rest well, Mai..."

The call ended and the miko threw the mobile phone back to its owner. Takigawa was furious that he hadn't had the chance to say good night to his young lady, and the two began bickering once again. John laughed awkwardly, Yasuhara began to cheer on the monk; Masako covered her mouth with her kimono; Aki simply rolled her eyes and kept reading; Naru glared at them and Lin did not react at all.

_My eyes snapped open. I was surrounded by darkness; and a sudden panic began to build inside me. Where was I? Was this a dream? _

_The sound of chimes made me jump. I suddenly found myself standing at the entrance of an old Japanese manor. Somehow it felt familiar. A cold breeze blew against me, making me shudder. Everything was dark and quiet...the only noticeable sound was the weak sound of chimes somewhere around._

_A thin mist appeared in the entrance of the manor. It was light and I could see the dark door through it, and standing there, just barely noticeable among the darkness, I saw a figure standing there. I couldn't see its face, but somehow I knew it was a male. _

_The man stood there looking at me; at least I thought he looked at me since his face was hidden in the darkness. _

_He turned around slowly and walked away, disappearing into the darkness._

_"Wait!" I cried out; but the figure did not look back. _

_I rushed into after it. The ground was muddy and really hard to walk on, but I managed to reach the door. _

_I hadn't stepped on the first stair when I felt something pulling my arm. I turned around and my eyes went wide..._

**Japanese salad made of seaweed and other ingredients.**


	52. Chapter 52

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation**

** Thanks for your reviews :3**

**Ariana Taniyama: you're quite into the right way...;P Your theory is really brilliant, and it's a quite close to what i have in mind but not exactly the same.**

**PearlesantlRose: sorry about the cliffhanger! I didn't intended it to be a cliff. I just had to cut it there since the chapter was getting too long DX**

**Sorry if this chapter is kind of cut. I had to make a cut since it was getting too long :/ I hope you forgive me. May be someone would know who's the feature ghost in this case ;P. Anyway...enjoy your read  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #3**

_"Gene!" I cried out in surprised The pale boy, dressed in black stood there holding my hand lightly. His cobalt blue eyes stared at me sadly and filled with worry"Good heavens…you scared the hell out of me…" I added sighing in relief "what are you doing here? Do you want me to tell Naru something about the case?"_

_Gene didn't reply. He simply looked down. He was acting so strange._

_"Gene? What's wrong?" I asked puzzled. It was the first time I'd ever seen him like that._

_"Don't go… you..." he said softly. _

_His voice sounded like a bad tuned radio; the words sounded cut and distant._

_"What...?" I said " I can't hear you? It's something wrong?"_

_ I only saw his lips moving as he tried to tell me something. It was as if someone had turn down the volume of the world! Gene kept moving his lips, but no sound came out from them; I couldn't hear him even though he was less than a meter from me._

_I was about to say something when suddenly I felt something pulling my other arm; it stronger and much less gentle than Gene; in fact it pulled me so hard that I felt like my shoulder was ripping apart. _

_Suddenly, I was pulled so hard that Gene had to let go of my hand. As I cried out in pain, I saw how Gene's image became smaller and smaller, until it finally disappeared. Whatever had gotten my arm was pulling me into the manor. _

_The darkness engulfed me, and suddenly I found myself standing a corridor. The place was dark and dusty; there were boxes pilled against the walls and some thorn out curtains hung from the ceiling. Turned to see behind me and found a wooden door. That was probably the door from which I'd entered._

_"Gene?" I said with a trembling voice as I hit the door I tried to open it, but it seemed to be locked." Gene, are you out there?"_

_There was no answer. I felt wind blowing into the corridor and making the curtains dance slightly; maybe there was an open window somewhere around; if I could find it...I could leave..._

_"What are you saying, Mai" I said to myself rubbing my arms. It really was cold. " This is a dream... if you want to leave, you just need to wake up..."_

_I shook my head and patted my cheeks. _

_"Wake up, Mai..." I said Wake up, c'mon..."_

_I stopped out of sudden. I've heard something; the chimes again. I raised my head and looked around nervously. There it was, just as I had expected...the figure was standing at the end of the corridor. It was still too dark for me to see him properly, but something told me that he was looking at me._

_"H-hello?" I said quietly. I hated how my voice sound in the middle of all that silence " C-can you hear me?"_

_The man didn't reply, he stood there for a while and then turned left and disappeared. _

_I was about to go after him...when I stopped myself. Gene had said "Don't go...". When he said that kind of things, it usually meant danger...but I didn't know this place, did I? So it wasn't like I was really in some sort of danger...was I? Besides...this was just a dream... I would wake up any time soon..._

_I suddenly felt so cold...the temperature was dropping drastically. Weird...I had never had dream like this. It felt...real? _

_There was no other way to take than the corridor in front of me. Perhaps, the man wanted me to follow him because he wanted to take me out of this dream…_

'…Or perhaps no…_' a little voice said in my mind._

_I shook my head. I'll never figure out if I didn't try. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness and then I walked into the corridor._

_The place was creepier than I expected. The house wasn't in pieces, but it was obvious that no one had lived there in years. The _tatami_ floors were all dustyin every room I passed; there was a small hearth in the middle of one of the rooms, it was black and burnt, but there was no coal inside; I found a some boxes with cloth and other stuff, all of them unused and pretty old, but besides that, there was no sign of life around. _

_I kept walking through the rooms and checking each of them. The man had vanished, and I was trapped in an unknown place with no way out. _

_A chill ran up my spin. Suddenly the room felt so cold; the last thing I needed now was that a ghost appeared._

_"You…." Someone said behind me; the voice cold and low as a whisper._

_My heart skipped a beat when I heard that voice. I turned around slowly fearing what I would find. It was a woman; she was standing right at the other side of the room. Her face was hidden behind a mop of black hair, long and straight. Other than that, she was...naked? Yes...she was naked all the way up from the waist; her skin was as so pale and all covered by marks; dark marks carved on it.. _

_"You..." she said in a soft hiss "I...found...you...!"_

_ My first thought was simply "RUN", but before I could move my feet, she was already in front of me. I could see the black carvings on her skin opening like spider's web, as her hand grabbed my left arm with a firm grip; an intense pain ran all over my arm: it was a piercing pain...like if a hundred needles were stinging my skin. I let out a loud scream and then..._

I woke up. My eyes snapped open, just to see the black ceiling in front of me. I was lying in my futon, covered in sweat and my heart pounding a thousand miles per hour. I looked my side and found Hikaru soundly slept in the other side of the room.

It was still dark in the room. I checked the time in my phone,, still too early. I was glad I hadn't woken up, Hikaru. I was starting to feel guilty whenever I woke up my friends with my weird dreams; but was this really a dream? It had felt so real...

I grabbed my left arm, and a sudden pain pierced my arm. I drowned my moan with the comforter, so that I wouldn't wake Hikaru. The pain vanished almost as soon as it had come...and I just needed a couple of minutes to recover myself.

What had that been? It was just like my dream; but it was only dream. I never had pain after my dreams...I felt awkward after, yes, but the pain had never been...real? Had I projected myself somewhere? No... That wasn't, either. It hadn't felt like that…

What was that place anyway? It felt somehow familiar...but as much as I tried to make it out, it just didn't come to my mind.

I shook my head. There were too many questions in my head right now, and after such a creepy dream…I felt exhausted.

I left myself fall over the futon and sighed. I still had a couple hours of sleep; I just hopped this would be a calm dream….


	53. Chapter 53

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation**

**Well here's the other half of last chapter. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #4**

"Mai…you look awful…" Kei said when we met up with him in the new road.

"Really?" I said rubbing the back of my head laughing nervously "It was nothing…really. I had a bad night, that's all…"

Kei was wearing some fresh clothes, perfect suited for summer time. Rei was standing behind him; she was wearing light clothes as well, a hat that hid her hair completely and dark glasses. She didn't look bad, but I had never seen her wearing a hat nor glasses, so I was a little stunned.

" Wow….what's up with those accessories, Rei?" I said mockingly.

"Not really…" she replied simply "Let's go take a look there, as soon I'm out of this heat, the better…"

"Don't mind about her. She's still a little angry because I forced her to come…" Kei whispered to us.

" You didn't have to force her if she didn't want to…" Hikaru said.

"Are you kidding me? She needs to overcome it already. She can't stay in home all the time…" Kei said waving his hand "Besides we might need her nose to track this ghost"

"Her….nose?" I asked puzzled.

Rei grabbed her brothers earlobe annoyed.

" My nose…? MY NOSE? What do you take me for? I hound?" she said annoyed.

"Woah…easy, easy…." Kei said laughing " Honestly, your mood has been a mess lately…"

"Ah…shut up" Rei replied letting him go " Mai, you lead the way, would you?"

"Eh? Oh yes!"

Hikaru and I showed them the way to the abandoned shrine. The day was particularly hot, and the cicadas wouldn't stop crying. The old shrine looked worst with all that light. The holes on the walls and the roofs were more than evident, but beside that it look quiet. Then I couldn't explain why I was getting chills down my neck.

"Hikaru-chan….has something changed from yesterday?" I asked and my friend shook her haid.

"Not that I can appreciate. It feels the same…" she replied " What do you two think?"

"Mmmm…I can't say anything for sure until I get in." Kei said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rei replied pushing through us and entering the shrine in a rush.

"Woah…very clever, sis…but wait for us!" Kei cried out following her.

I helped Hikaru inside, too. The twins were standing inside looking around. We walked to them slowly.

"So…what do you say…?" I asked impatiently.

"I feel…weird…" Kei said " It's not a ghost….or spirit…but there's something in here…"

"By something…what do you mean?" I asked " It wouldn't be…a d-demon, right?"

"No…it's not quite a presence…" Kei replied " It's similar to how a curse feels…but not quite the same either "

"Bewitchment…" Rei added "It's more a spell than anything"

"You mean someone put a spell in this shrine?" I asked horrified " When? Was it recent?"

"Mmmm…. No. It feels old…" Kei said " I has its years already…. Do you feel anything else, Sis?"

Rei began to walk around the room like she was looking for something. She suddenly stopped in a spot and covered her mouth with her hand. She looked like she was going to get sick or something.

"Rei! Are you okay?" I said alarmed.

"It stinks…" she said from behind her hand "Smells so fetid…"

"Eh? Really? I can't smell anything …" I said sniffing around " What do you smell?"

"Rotten flesh…" she replied "reeks of death"

"Eh? How can you smell that?" I said "I really can't smell anything…"

"Eh….we'll explain you that, later "Kei laughed nervously " So…you say it stinks of death….metaphorically or literal?"

"Both….something really nasty happened here…" She keep saying " I think the smell comes from downstairs…is there a basement or something?"

"There is….some underneath chamber and an underground spring…" Hikaru replied "This was a shrine; so, they probably used it for purification ceremonies. You say the smell comes from there?"

"Yes…" Rei said sure "About the ghost…I'm not sure… I feel something, but it's so weak that I can't see it clearly…"

"But there _is _something here, isn't it?" I asked.

"Most likely…yes…." Rei said "and I don't like it. Kei…we should do something…"

"Yeah…I know what you mean…" he said crossing his arms over his chest "Seems like we've earned ourselves a case. Shall we call Shibuya-san and see if he wants to take part?"

"He's with other case…. I don't think…"

"We can start for ourselves. Tell Shibuya-san that he can joins us when he's done with the case" Rei said " we have equipment in our house, we can bring it. Kei can handle the monitoring, I'll do the exploring and you two do the research. That way it won't interfere with your project…"

It was weird that Rei took the lead like that. In fact, she was acting weird. Even though it was dark in here, she didn't attempt to take off the hat or the glasses.

"There's not much to do right now. Shall we go back and take a look on the pics and the information we have?" Kei suggested.

"Sure…" Hikaru replied " Our inn isn't too far…"

We left the shrine and headed to the inn. Kei and Rei walked behind us; they seemed to be talking about something in whispers.

"Nee…Hikaru-chan…" I said quietly " Don't you think Rei is acting weird?"

"Mmm…I thought that too. Her energy feels quite different, too…" Hikaru admitted.

"Do you think it has to do with what happened in the last case?" I asked her. The image of the demon masked man and Rei linked by a golden thread came into my mind.

"Perhaps…" she said "But if she doesn't talk, we better don't ask…"

"Yeah…but…" I said biting my lip. I glanced at Rei from over my shoulder and sighed.

The inn was empty when we arrived, not a surprise; most of the guests were students, and all of them had left to work on their own projects. Kei and Rei entered into our room rather happy about the fact that they were not longer under the frying sun. Kei was pretty much amused with all the notes we had pasted in the boards.

"So this are the pictures?" Kei said examining one of the pictures with a big red circle.

"Yep…that's the first one I took. The ghost is clear right there…"

"But this one is a female, isn't it?" Kei asked pointing another one " That suggest that we have two ghosts?"

"It seems like that…."I replied lowering my shoulders " not that I can tell, though…"

"Kei…did you find out something about this place?" Hikaru asked.

"Mmm… I got some of our servants looking between the archives; but I got you a name for this place."

"A name?" we both asked.

"Yes…Kuze Shrine" he replied " I still don't have much information about it; give me more time…"

"Oh…don't worry about it." I smiled and looked at Rei.

She still hadn't taken off the hat nor the glasses.

"Hey, Rei…" I said " Why don't you take those off? You look pretty with it, but it's cool in here…"

"I'm fine. Don't worry…" she replied.

Kei sighed shaking his head.

"Take it off, sis…" he said " they're bond to find it sooner or later…"

Find it? Find what? Was something wrong with Rei?

Rei sighed in defeat and took off her hat and glasses. I gasped. Her hair that was blueish black was now a lighter color between grey and silver white. Her eyes now had a hazel color, and not the dark grey like her brother's.

"Oh…snap out of it, Mai. You'll get flies into your mouth…" she said sitting down.

"S-sorry…what's up with that…new look?" I said puzzled.

"It's not a new look. It's all that bastard onmyouji's fault…" Rei said "Now I really look like some freak!"

"Oh…don't be overdramatic. I think that look suits you. " Kei sighed " The onyouji in our last case casted a curse over her. It was a fox spirit curse that supposedly makes a fox spirit eat your soul, and you die by the end of six months. Since the Abe clan is said to have a Kitsune bloodline **(2)**; instead of eating her soul, it caused her to…_change…_ that's all" Kei said simply " Nothing serious… " he added when he saw our horrified faces "The curse had many layers, we undid the dangerous part, but we haven't been able to take of the appearance part; so Rei had to keep that looks for a while…"

" Yeah…and my hair can't be dyed…" she said sadly.

"Hey, be happy…it could be worst. You could have gotten ears…or a tail!" Kei said "Anyway...We're not here to discuss about your curse."

Kei passed some of the pictures to his sister. Rei picked it up and examined it carefully.

"Looks real to me…" she finally said "if Mai and Hikaru say there wasn't anyone else there, it must be a spirit. The photo isn't fake; it isn't a halo, or orbs, that can be caused by light phenomena; so there was really something caught by the camera."

"But how's that Hikaru-chan couldn't feel its presence?" I asked " Are there ghost without presence?"

"No…that's impossible. Ghost requires energy to materialize, even if they managed to hide themselves from Hikaru's vision…they would have caused physical phenomena when they showed up: temperature drops, rattle…" Kei said grabbing his chin a way that reminded me of Naru "but you didn't feel anything; and you say there wasn't temperature drops since it was awfully hot back then…"

"A transitory ghost…perhaps" Rei said.

"May be…" Kei said " Mai…have you had any dream about this?"

"She had one before we arrived. It was before we were assigned this case " Hikaru replied for me.

"Only that one?" Rei asked me with her eyebrow slightly raised.

I bit my lip. Had the curse given her the ability to read minds or what? How has she know I had had a dream last night?

"I… Yes, I had one…last night"

The twins looked each other as if they were telling each other something that was secret.

" We have an official case, now…"

"No case is a case if Mai doesn't dream about it. All right…I'll call Shibuya" Kei said "This might be more serious than we thought…"

And there we were again; when I least expected it, a case had managed to find me. Naru was going to be pissed.

"Mai…what are you doing?" Rei asked me when I got up in a jump.

"I'm going shopping…" I replied.

"What? Now….? Mai this isn't…" Kei began.

"It's not for me…" I interrupted him " if Naru is coming…I better go fetch some good tea…"

**(1) In Japanese folklore is said that Abe no Seimei was son of a human and a kitsune. That's why he had outstanding powers. In Rei's case…she was cursed to die by the hand of a fox spirit, but since she might be a quarter fox spirit, instead of having a random kitsune kill her, she had her inner kitsune released. **

**Since dealing with such a curse actually requires a lot of energy to fight it, she los pigmentation of her hair, and the change in eye color is a effect of her inner kitsune.I don't know I read of a couple of Chinese wuxia books in which the protagonist suffer of a curse or poison that causes the same effect, too. Whether is real…I Don't know…but hell this is fiction!**


	54. Chapter 54

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation**

**Well I think working in this arc has my mind playing funny tricks on me. Las t night I dream with the manor too…AWFUL dream, to tell the truth.**

**I just hope I'm not getting the curse I'm writng abou LOL**

**Enjoy the chapter**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #5**

_When I opened my eyes, I was lying over cold stone. It was dark and I felt cold._

_It was that dream again, but this time I was in a different place; I knew this place, though. I had been here before, in _

_another dream…_

_I got up and looked around. The jizo statues lined up in the corner of the garden, gave me chills as the memories of my last time here came to my mind. I could only hope the shadow wouldn't show any time soon. _

_I looked around searching for the double door; when I found it, I gasped. The door was wide open, and between the darkness, the faint shape of the mysterious man stood quietly. His face was still unrecognizable._

"_It's you again…" I whispered " Who are you?"_

_There was, as expected, no answer. The faceless man stood there for a couple minutes, and then turned to walk away in slow pace. I saw his shadow painted on the shoji screens as her walked away into the corridor that surrounded the garden._

"_Well…I guess I have to follow him…" I said to myself sighing. _

_At least I had a lead. If this dream was somehow related to the dream I had before, then the place was the shrine itself; but in a better shape, of course._

_I walked through the corridor feeling awkward. The only sound I heard was my feet against the dirty wooden floor. I honestly didn't know where I was going; and if it hadn't been for the jizo statues, I wouldn't have known this place was actually the shrine we were researching. It looked rather different, now, it was a dream; and things usually weren't the way they looked in real life. _

_Well…Kei had said; get some clues; and now was the best time to find myself some clues. I just wished that Gene was here…walking down those dusty corridors, by myself , actually made me feel awkward… Where have Gene gone? He usually popped up in my dreams no matter where I was…but the only time I saw him was when I was outside the manor. Couldn't he find me?_

_I walked deep in thought when the sound of steps in one of the rooms. There _was_ someone else here….ghost couldn't have footsteps. I peeped into the room. Like the other rooms, it was dark and dusty, but I managed to notice a white shape deep inside. _

"_Hikaru-chan!" I muttered. Why was she here?_

_Hikaru was standing in front of a large mirror. Her reflection seemed a little blurry behind all the dust that covered the crystal surface. She stretched her hand and touched the mirror. Nothing happened…._

_I saw my friend sigh and turn around. To my horror, her reflection didn't move; it remained there staring at my friends back. Its eyes and hair turned deep black, her mouth twisted into a wicked smile; black lines began to spread over her pale skin. It was the woman I had seen in my last dream!_

_The woman stretched her hand out of the mirror and grabbed Hikaru's shoulder making her gasp. She was pulling her into the mirror! I saw my friend twisting to release herself. I needed to help her!_

_I ran into the room; forgetting any attempts to keep my presence in secret and ran to aid my friend. The woman in the mirror lifted her face and looked straight at me. A deep pain broke into my arm….and then…_

I jumped up from my futon throwing the comforter to a side. I panted heavily; the pain in my arm was so strong and piercing. Even stronger than the first time I felt it; but just like that time, the pain sonly faded, leaving me breathless and weakened.

I looked to my side where Hikaru was sleeping in here futon. She hadn't woken up, but she was surely having a bad dream. Her face was all covered in sweat and she was shaking terribly.

I crawled to her and shook her lightly to wake her up. It took a while for her to finally wake up. She jumped up holding her shoulder in pain…

"Hikaru-chan?" I said softly " It's ok…it was just a dream"

My friend looked at me quietly; her shoulders moving up and down as she panted heavily. I took her several minutes before she could finally talk again.

"Mai…." She said quietly "I saw you… you were there; in my dream…but…why?"

"I don't know…I thought was having my own dream….but then I saw you. It was…weird…." I said frankly "You met her…"

"The woman with the tattoos… " She said " I did….it wasn't…nice…"

"I know… She's…scary…." I said " But that means…we had the same dream?"

"Not only that…I don't think that we were just having the same dream….there must be something behind all that…."

Something is behind it, heh? Why this kind of thing did always happened to us? If Hikaru was right and there was actually something behind all that…then it was definetily not good.

"What time is it?" Hikaru asked out of sudden.

"It is pass eleven…almost midnight. Why?" I said puzzled.

"If we're lucky….Kei and Rei are still awake. We need to call them…" She replied " They said we should call if it was an emergency. We had a synchronized dream. I don't think this is something normal. We need to consult with them. I have the feeling that this has something to do with that shrine…"

"Uhm…ok…I guess this counts as an emergency…after all…"

I took out my mobile and dialed Kei's number. It hadn't been two dial sounds when the phone was answered. I didn't expect Kei to answer that fast.

"Ehm…Kei. Hi! Sorry for calling this late…I hope I didn't wake you…"

"Eh? Never mind…I was woken up by something else…" he replied. He sounded agitated.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" I asked concerned.

" Let's just say…I didn't have swee t dreams tonight…"

Suddenly something flashed into my head.

"Did you dream of an old manor and a tattooed woman, by any chance?" I asked him, even though somehow I thought I knew the answer already.

"How did you….?"

"Because we did…too…"


	55. Chapter 55

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation**

**Watch out when reading this story late at night; a friend just told she had had nightmares that looked quite like the ones that take place in the Manor of sleep after reading this before going to bed. XD You might end up dreaming it too….**

**Last nigh I worte before going to bed and I had a weird dream. It wasn't exactly a nightmare…but it really was any of you have the same feel free to share it LOL…don't worry I'm not cursing you. **

**Barajou29: **** this chapter might answer your question**

**Ariana Taniyama: **** Thank you for your nice reviews. Yes… I, too, thought that the manor of sleeps suited Mai.**

**Thanks to you, readers have fun reading and sweet dreams (;P)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #6**

Kei and Rei arrived in a shorter time I'd expected. It was lucky that they lived close to our inn. We all sat with tea (the one I'd bought for Naru's future arrival; he wouldn't miss a little) and talked about our respective dreams.

All of them had happened in the same place; all our descriptions matched pretty well. Kei had had the same nightmare as we did, Rei had the same dream but she didn't meet the tattooed woman though.

"It was my sister…" Hikaru said " I followed her inside, but then she disappeared in the mirror room; I think she went into the mirror…"

So that was why she had been touching the mirror.

"Your sister….I saw my grandfather…" Kei said staring at his teacup "He stood there staring at me and then simply went on walking; when I realized I was pulled into a pond by the hands of that tattooed woman… I was awoken by your call, Mai; but my chest burned as if I had really been drowning… "

" Mmm…and you, Mai?" Rei asked.

"I…just saw the person of the picture; but I never saw his face…"I said lowering my shoulders "It's supposed to be someone I knew who died, like Hikaru's and Kei's right? But I can't think of anyone."

"Rei didn't meet the woman, though…" Hikaru added " Why? If all of us met her…"

"_If you follow the dead in your dreams….you won't be able to come back…._**(1)" **Rei whispered absently " I didn't follow the ghost in my dream… I guess it was my….fox spirit survival instinct who prevented me of doing it…"

"So…they're people who were once alive and related to us…" I observed "Did someone bring them back? I mean….like a hitogata, or something like that?"

"I doubt they were the real ones. It seems more like they're _shadows…_"Rei said.

"Shadows…?"I said puzzled.

"Shadows of lost ones…"Rei proceed "They might not be the real spirit of the person with lost…but the ghost of a memory kept in your mind. Anyway…whoever is causing this…is definitely using people we care about, to attract us into its trap…"

"When I woke up…my chest hurt a lot, but for a second… I thought I saw something forming on my skin, when I blinked it was gone… Perhaps this is a curse…" Kei said " Did it happen to you, too?"

"I…I don't know…it was too dark for me to look on that…" I admitted.

The four of us looked our tea in silence. No one said a word, each of us was busy working for a viable explanation; but none of us could think of anything. What did those dreams mean? Were we really cursed? For a moment I felt myself panic…

" It's too late to call to Tokyo…" Kei said checking his watch " Perhaps we can reach Lin-san though…"

He added looking at Rei. She shook her head.

"I don't think Shibuya-san will agree if it's _me_ who calls."

"Good point…" Kei said " All right, Mai. You call tomorrow; and make sure to put and emphasis on the ghost haunting _you _and possibly threatening _you_ …."

What was that supposed to mean? I glared at Kei who smiled at me with a charming smile. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Fine…all call as soon as it's a more reasonable hour…" I said "But there's a little detail…"

"What?" The twin replied together.

"If this turns into an official case…god knows how long with it take. We're supposed to return Tokyo by the end of this week and hang in the report on Monday. We won't make it on time…and I don't want to fail this course" I said stubbornly.

"Seriously….you're the first person I met that is being haunted by a potentially murderous spirit and it's rather more worried about a report rather than her own life…" Kei said rubbing his front head "Whatever…Shinase-san is member of the Research Team….I think… we might be able to persuade her to give you some extra time…."

"Yeah, after all, if you two die in this case, there's not need to worry about the report anymore…" Rei said shaking her head making her wave beautifully.

I rolled my eyes. Silence fell among us once more. We were all tired but, any of us seemed ready to sleep again.

The next morning, I sat in the room staring my mobile phone with absent eyes. Kei and Rei had left to speak with the teacher; Hikaru was taking a bath, so I was left alone in the room with a note book and my mobile in front of me.

The notebook had been Kei's "present" ; he had given one to each of us so that we could write down whatever we dreamt. He hoped that the details might help us1 identify the tattooed ghost in our dreams. Rei had decided that perhaps next time she should follow the ghost into the manor, too.

I looked my mobile, sighed and dialed Bou-san's number and waited in line. I didn't expect him to answer. It was still early; they were probably too busy attending Naru's demands. I kind of felt sorry for them.

"Jou-chaaan!" Bou-san's voice screeched from the other side of the line.

"Eh…hi" I laughed nervously "Everything okay….?"

"Yes…perfectly fine."Bou-san said cheerfully "What 'bout you Jou-chan? Everything going nice, isn't it?"

"Can't complain…."I replied; of course, if you could consider a presence- less ghost stalking me like fine. " Is the case going smoothly? Any idea of what it is?"

"Pff…practically solved. It was a simple poltergeist caused by the family's oldest daughter. Naru will tell the owners this afternoon, and then we'll keep an eye for a day, just to make sure everything is fine… we're practically out of here, though…"

Well that was quick. How long had they been in that case? Three days, maybe…

"I'm glad to hear that…" I said "Ne…Bou-san, there's….something I need to ask you all. Is Naru and the others around?"

"What? Well yeah…I'm about to enter the base; but why? Don't tell me…." Bou-san's voice become louder " Mai…you found a guy there, and now you're planning to elope; isn't it? You are going to say good bye to everyone….How can…."

"Oaaah, Bou-san…. I….It's not that! Now quiet down!"

There was a loud sound and a plank.

"MAI! What's that about you eloping with some guy? You _should_ have asked me first!" Ayako voice said.

"Mai-chan! Eloping isn't good…! Who is this guy? Is he more handsome than Boss?" Yasuhara joined.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mai-chan" John said concerned.

I rolled my eyes. Well done Bou-san, and you put the speaker just in the right moment, too. As if it wasn't hard enough to ask them to come over for a case, now I have to explain that I _am not_ eloping.

"Guys…calm down…" I sighed "I'm not eloping with anyone…okay? "

"But you said you had to tell us something…" Bou-san said.

"Yeah….but I never said anything about eloping! You made up that yourself!"

There was a loud "smack" and I knew Ayako had just hit him. I could hear her scold him for telling awful lies.

"What did you have to tell us, Mai-chan?" John-san asked kindly.

" Eh…that…Is Naru there, too, by any chance?"

"Yes…Shibuya-san, Lin-san and Sasaki-san are here…"John replied " Hara-san is also here, too…"

"Oh…well great" I took a deep breath before proceeding " Well…how do I start? Happens that…I got a place I was supposed to research…"

"Yeah, for your field project, wasn't it?" Yasuhara said " Do you need our help with research?"

"What? No, no….Hikaru-chan and I can handle that without problems…it's….something else…"

"What else?" Naru's cold voice said making me give a jump for the surprise.

I haven't expected him to get into the conversation though.

"Ehm…it's hard to…well, say. I'll just go to the point….The building we were researching seems to be haunted…and now Hikaru-chan, Kei, me and soon Rei are being cursed by some wicked presence-less spirit with tattoos. We need your help; so Naru…will you take this case?"

I had said everything too quick. I just hoped they had got what I was trying to say; or perhaps no, judging by the silence in the other side of the line.

"Ehm….guys?" I said softly.

"Mai…." Naru's voice was somehow colder than usual "Get us a place to stay. We'll be there by this afternoon…"

"Eh….OK!"

"And Mai…"

"Whatt?"

"Take care until we get there"

With those last words the call ended, leaving me speechless and totally, confused.

**This is a quoted dialog from Fatal Frama III; this words were originally said by Miku Hinazaki.**


	56. Chapter 56

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**Chapter for all of you, thanks for your nice reviews.**

**Ariana Taniyama: **** Thank you for your observation, I hadn't realized I was writing and instead of an…I guess I didn't see it…(automatic typing perhaps? :/)**

**PearlasantRose :**** Thank you! n,n**

**BrokenBlackCat: ****Yeah Bou-san should learn to listen before making up stories**

**Barajou92: ****Yeah…it goes somewhere in that way**

**Thanks Reviewers! Love you 3**

**Thanks to you, readers have fun reading and sweet dreams (;P)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #7**

"Mai!" Bou-san screamed hugging me tightly against his chest "Father missed you so much….!"

"Kyaaaa….Bou-san…let go! You're cutting my breath!"

"You heard her perverted monk!" Ayako said pulling me away from him. "Mai…everything okay? My my…you're so pale and what's up with those balck bags under your eyes? You aren't staying too late with all that work, are you?"

"Eh…? No, no…not really…haha "I laughed nervously. Actually, it's more like being awoken by awful dreams and a crazy woman with tattoos.

It was noon, and the guys had just arrived; and to tell the truth, they had arrived sooner than I expected.

"Where's Naru?"

"He's with Lin…"

"Those two…" Ayako said" They're checking into the inn…"

"Naru is in such a pretty mood. I kind of feel sorry for Lin" Bou-san sighed.

What? Naru is in bad mood? Well, great. That's just what I needed; an arrogant boss with a bad mood. This wasn't my day…

"Oi, jou-chan….it's _your _fault that Naru is in such a bad mood."

"What? Why me?" I hadn't done anything to piss him, had I?

"Well….that's right, Mai. You shouldn't have let Naru know that he was your _second _choice?"

"What second choice?" I asked puzzled.

"Oh, Mai…you're so young and naïve… " Ayako sighed.

"Yeah…take it from the old lady…" Bou-san giggled ignoring, Ayako's glare.

"What are you two talking about?!" I said annoyed.

"Mai…"

That voice cut into the air, just like a knife cutting butter. The air around us became ice cold, and for a while I thought a ghost would pop out any time soon. I turned around slowly, just to meet two cobalt eyes staring at me in a deep and annoyed glare.

"N-Naru!" I cried out. Oh, god. He really _was _pissed.

"What do you think you're doing? Take us to that place, right away …" He said with a piercing voice.

"Ahhh? Y-yes!"

"And you two slackers…move"

Naru turned on his heels and walked away. The three of us looked at each other.

"Well…that was worse than facing a ghost…."Ayako said fanning herself with her hand "We better go, before he comes back…"

"Yeah, just give me a second!"

I nodded sadly. This was going to be one pretty nasty experience, so I better went well prepared. I shook my head and entered into my room in a rush. I came out with a paper bag in my arms and raised my head triumphantly while I pressed the bag against my chest. This tea should placate the beast, it had been expensive after all and the seller had said that it was one of the best qualities in Kyoto. Even Kei had corroborated that affirmation…so this tea should do its magic on Naru's bad mood.

"Ready let's go!"

The trip to the ruined shrine wasn't the best of all. Masako complained about having her walking there in those dusty streets. She had worn her best kimono and now she was bewailing for it getting dirty. Well, whose fault was that anyway? If she didn't want to come, she could have stayed back and ride the van with Lin-san; but no, she had to come here following Naru. The rest of us could only complain about the heat, except Naru, of course…his soul was such an icy tanuki that he was the only person insane enough to wear black in summer.

When we arrived to the shrine, there was a large tent lifted a few meters from the building's entrance. Kei, Rei and Hikaru had come earlier to prepare a proper space for our base. They had brought the tables for the screens and other equipment and power source.

"Woah….this is nice" Bou-san said checking inside the tent "Those kids never cease to impress me"

"That's Kei and Rei for you…" I laughed.

"They're so thoughtful…" John smiled "They even brought us a small portable kitchen…"

_That's for Naru's tea! God thanks to those, two_, I thought.

"It's acceptable…" Naru said coolly "I'll tell Lin to bring the car. Where are Kei-san and Rei-san?" He asked Hikaru.

"Kei went home to fetch some extra wires and cameras…" She replied "Rei is checking the surroundings…"

"Good…I want her to report me if she finds anything…"Naru said " Momoka-san; give me all the notes from this case…"

"Yes. We haven't started to investigate, so we only have some pictures and research notes." Hikaru replied passing him a yellow envelope.

Naru opened it and checked its content and sighed in annoyance.

"When Yasuhara-san arrives, tell him to start researching this matter…" he ordered " The rest of you…wait for Lin and then start unloading the equipment…Hara-san, go with Mai and see if you feel any …"

"There's no use…" Rei said entering into the tent. She was wearing her glasses again. "She won't feel anything…"

"Rei…"

"Are you suggesting that my powers are not good? I've sensed the spirits in more cases with SPR than what you have with us…" Masako said. She was obviously offended by Rei's sudden entrance.

"I'm not saying that your abilities are lame, Hara-san, but I assure that once you step there, you'll say there's nothing; just like Hikaru did."

"Perhaps my abilities are sharper…" Masako said.

"You _won't _feel anything. There's no ghost in those ruins…at least no ghost you can feel…I assure you…"

"Explain yourself, Rei-san…" Naru said cooly.

"There 's not evidence of any haunting in this place, except for the ghost pictures Mai took…however…"

"So there's a however…." Bou-san said.

"Go to the point, Rei-san…" Naru continued ignoring Bou-san.

"There's a particular feeling…and an intense smell of blood and death coming from there. The place is haunted…but I don't think the ghosts are in _this _plane…"

"This plane?" John said puzzled " What do you mean, Rei-san?"

"It might be too early to assure it, but I've been thinking since what happened last night…" she said " We all dreamed of this place, but each of us saw something different. That's the only…paranormal experience we've had since we enter those ruins; I'm starting to believe that the ghost only exist in our dreams…"

Everyone left out sighs of surprise.

"Ghosts haunting dreams…" Naru said grabbing his chin " I've never heard anything like it…"

"It sounds crazy, I know…" Rei said " It's an hypothesis only…"

Naru didn't reply; he began scribbling something in his notebook.

"Well…We shall keep that possibility in mind…." He finally said checking his cell phone. I could tell he wasn't entirely convinced, but that was the only theory we had, now. "Lin is outside. Go and unload the equipment…"

Bou-san let out a complain about having them doing all the heavy job all the time; for the first time, Ayako agreed with him; both left the tent making a fuzz. John smiled at me shaking his head and left after them.

"I'll take a look around the place" Masako said covering her mouth with her sleeve with all the pride she had "I might find something useful…"

"All right you go… Whatever…"Rei said lowering her shoulders indifferently.

"H-Hey….you're not going to let her go on her one, are you?" I said horrified.

"Why not? Like I said…there's nothing in there…" Rei replied.

"Even though…."

"I'll go…" Aki offered.

I gave a thankful look and she left the tent as well. Another case, just began; I was still surprised that Naru hadn't asked for tea, yet…

"Mai…."

Oh, bother…I spoke a way too early.

"Tea…"

"Yes sir…" I sighed with a smile.


	57. Chapter 57

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**All right here's the chapter. Sorry if its quite lame…:/ I'd been busy and really had not much time to dedicate to it. So sorry don't hate me for it….**

**Thanks Reviewers! Love you 3**

**Thanks to you, readers have fun reading and sweet dreams (;P)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #8**

We were sitting outside the tent listening to the cicadas from the near trees. The hot weather was making us snooze; and on top of that, Naru was still trying to decide what to do next, so he had, for the first time in our lives, nothing for us to do.

"Well I admit it…I'm glad we get to have a bit of rest" Bou-san said. He was laying lazily with his arms behind his head " Naru has been in an awful mood lately. I guess it might have been the lack of tea…."

"What? If he wanted tea so badly, he could have made it himself!" I said outraged. Stupid, lazy, arrogant boy!

"Naru wouldn't do it himself…; but Masako did offer to do it instead" Bou-san laughed "But you know Naru…. It's _your _tea, he likes…"

"Oh…that's ridiculous…." I sighed.

"Anyway, Mai…" Bou-san said. He got up in a jump and looked at me with a playful expression "How's that you ended up messed with a ghost and the little pair of twins came to know it before I did? It's not only Naru who's angry…I should be mad at you, too!"

"Hey! I just thought you already had much burden with the case back at Tokyo…I didn't want to give you another one with this silly thing…"

"Mai….this is more serious than anything. When I ghost shows interest on you, there's no way it is a harmless ghosts…" Ayako added sternly " Anyway…weren't you pushing this burden into the Abe twins , too?"

"Eh…" I hadn't thought about that. After all Kei had declined Naru's case because he _had_ business to attend and Rei was recovering. How idiot I was! "W-well…They were in Kyoto anyway…"

"You know how much Naru hates when you consult with Kei-san before him…." Ayako said pinching my cheek.

"Oh… sorry for him! But it's not like he knows everything in this world! Can I ask for a opinion that isn't his? Hmph…" I said crossing my arms on my chest.

"You really are thick headed, aren't you?" laughed Ayako hitting my head playfully.

"W-what?"

"Nothing…"

"So, Mai-chan. Can you tell us about that dream you had?"

I took a deep breath and began with the story; from the first dream in the bus to the dream I shared with Hikaru. My friends listened to every detail with some sort of fascination and worry.

"So…it means this ghost attacks only in dreams?" John asked.

"It seems like it…well that was what Rei and Kei thought….."I replied " We still can't assure it though…"

"That would most likely complicate this case" Bou-san observed "There's no way we can put cameras to monitor dreams….no wonder that Naru is taking his time to think about the locations…"

"But Mai-chan said that she had her ghost appeared in a picture"

John was right. If the ghost existed in my dreams, why had a couple of them appeared in the pictures? But if they were actually here, why no one seemed to notice them?

" Well if you ask my opinion…" Ayako began.

"Don't say anything about earth spirits, woman…" Bou-san said before she could finish.

Ayako looked at him quite outraged and hit him. Both of them started bickering, and I couldn't avoid a smile.

"I wonder what will Naru do?" I sighed " It seems like a tricky case…and you know how Naru loves his equipment. If he can't use it…how will he solve the case?"

"Have faith in Shibuya-san" Hikaru said "He's bright. He'll find a way…"

I felt the smooth grass caressing my arms while I stared the sky. It was bluer than any other I'd ever seen. The slow motion of the clouds, the cicadas cry and the warm breeze began to make me sleepy. My eyes began to close.I was about to fall sleep and then, I heard it, right there behind the laughs and voices of my companions…

It was like ... a song, sung by children. There wasn't any school or children's care around, that I could recall. Then why was I hearing a children's song?

_Sleep, priestess…lie in peace(1)_

_Sleep, priestess…. Lie in peace_

_If you cry, the boat you'll ride, the last trip to the other side,_

_Once you get there, sacred marks you'll bear,_

_They shall be peeled off, should you fail to lie still…_

What's that? Was it a lullaby? It sounded…kind of familiar. The words of the song got mixed with the wind, the cicadas and the far voices of my friends around me.

I tried to pay attention to the words of the song but, the song became more and more tangled, like a bad tuned radio…and the words began to lose its sense. They were more like a bunch of noises and sounds accompanied by a faint tune.

_Slp, pess, l in p_

_ep, priss, lie in pce_

_f te pris aks fr her am_

_Pem te te f stk, r ims ned t_

Le e oo op wde and suffeg ulead n l

In my head I kept trying to remember where had I heard it before; but the melody made me even sleepier, and my thoughts began to blur into a thick mist…I felt…Lost…

"Mai!"

I jumped up startled shaking my head around. Hikaru was in front of me with a big bottle of juice. When had she arrived?

"You were day dreaming again?" She asked with a smile "I was asking you if you wanted some juice"

"Eh? Oh sure….but hey, where did you get the juice? When?" I asked puzzled.

Something really hard hit my head out of sudden. When I looked up I found Kei looking at me with a wide smile as he rubbed his knuckle.

"Idiot… You should stop day dreaming. It's not too different from actually falling asleep. I bet you'll be the first one to get caught by the tattooed woman"

"You know…that really hurt!" I said rubbing my head.

"Well you can keep in mind that if you fall sleep again, I'll do it again…"

"I wasn't sleeping…"

"Day dreaming is pretty much like sleeping…"he said laughing.

"It's not!"

"It is…"

"It's not!"

"It…"

"I'd appreciate if you two stopped your useless games, and pay more attention to the current situation…" a low voice said annoyed.

Naru was standing in front of the tent with pretty annoyed look; he should probably consider using some lighter clothes; that formal outfit was certainly not good in this hot weather, and that probably made him even more irritable. I would be…if I was him.

"Oh…we weren't…"

" Mai, you were the one who asked us to come; so I'm hoping you'll take this seriously."

I opened my mouth to complain, but I bit my lip. There was no use on fighting this time; he was right, I'd been the one that asked them to come…so I should help out as much as I could. Oh…but I hated when Naru was right so badly! Idiotic, narcissistic, humorless, workaholic guy…

"I've decided the route of this case. I want you all inside...Now"he added glaring at me. I simply replied showing him my tongue in a pretty childish expression.

There were some soft complains from everyone, as we got up and entered the tent. Rei was inside next to Lin-san. They seemed busy looking on something and non of them bothered to look at us when we got in.

"Kei-san…I was told that you had something important to say…" Naru said in a extreme ( almost scary) politeness that made us all shudder.

Surprisingly, Kei simply smiled ( a little awkward, though) and nodded.

"I've found the records of something that seems related to this place…" he explained, getting serious again"Guys….I'm afraid we fell in the devils mouth…"

"What do you mean, kiddo?" Bou-san asked puzzled.

"Oh…not you. You're still in the safe line…" Kei replied " We Mai, Hikaru, Rei and I…. We're the ones in trouble…"

"heh?" Hikaru and I said.

"Guys….we've been cursed; and if we don't find the way to break it; it'd be a matter of time before we fall into an endless dream…"

My mouth dropped. This was-certainly-bad news.

(1) Taken from Fatal Frame III


	58. Chapter 58

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**Happy Snakes Year and Happy Valentine! Sorry I took too long…New Years preparations had me busy. Enjoy this chapter. It might a bit boring…anyway…**

**Thanks to you, readers have fun reading and sweet dreams (;P)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #9**

"Hold on a second….what do you mean by cursed? Explain yourself kid!" Bou-san snapped.

"How did Mai end up cursed, too? It makes no sense!"Ayako said " Is it this place? This place is cursed?"

"Hey! Let me breath….I'll explain everything; but go easy on me, would you?" Kei said shaking his hands.

"That's enough you two. If you have nothing useful to say you better stay quiet" Naru said giving them a glare that would have killed anyone "Continue Kei-san…"

"Six months ago a government employee came to our house asking for assistance. Apparently they wanted us to check on a certain building in this zone" Kei said " It was an old abandoned mental institution: Hanakirim Hospital. It ran from early 90's and closed around 2000. The hospital was located in short distance from here, and it needed to be demolished in order to built the new highway"

"So…it was demolished, but what relevance does it have in this case?" Aki said frowning.

"The reason why the government asked us to check it, was because they were worried that the place might have been haunted…"

"What? So Governmental representtived actually believe in those things, too?" Bou-san said a little amused.

"It doesn't matter how modern or serious they act; they are all a bunch of superstitious elders…." Kei said rolling his eyes "The thing is, they wanted to make sure the place was cleansed before it was taken down…"

"I remember that…" Rei said lifting her look from Lin-san's laptop " There was nothing there, father said so…"

"Yeah. According to his notes from that case…there was no presence of ghost or any unnatural being in the building; also…there were no records of it being haunted at all."

"If nothing happened there, why would the government think it was haunted?" John said.

"There were some disturbing records in the hospital " Kei replied.

"What kind of disturbing records?" Naru asked visibly interested.

"Let me read it for you…"

Kei pulled out a bunch of papers. They were pretty much yellow and wore out; so they must have been really old.

"Is that…?" I began.

"Yeah, the original records; since the hospital was being demolished and these documents were irrelevant to the government, my father brought most of them for our archive. Hey you never know when they'll be of some use…" he replied.

"Or perhaps he _did_ know. Remember is our father we're talking about…" Rei said frowning "Whatever, continue, silly bro…"

"Thanks. Well there was a strange disease that affected some of the patients in Hanakirim. The medics there named it Nightmare Dead Syndrome or NDS for short. It was a very peculiar disease…."

"NDS?" Ayako said "I've never heard of it…"

"Nor did I…" Aki added.

"Not surprise you didn't. It seemed to be isolated cases; all of them in patients from Hanakirim. Wait to hear more of it…I think some of us might find it…familiar…" Kei said before starting to read " _The Nightmare Death Syndrome (NDS) is psychiatric disease that recently manifested between the patients. The first patient to develop the syndrome was Hirose Sayuki, 32 years old, diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The syndrome consist stages that revolves around some peculiar symptoms that includes dreaming with an odd looking manor in a cold snowy night, a deceased acquaintance of the patient and mysterious pains and bruises on different parts of the body after the awakening. Most of the patients complain about the presence of a strange woman covered in tattoos that haunts them in dreams. The disease spreads as quickly as a common flu. Two weeks ago, barely 4 of our patients were suffering, now at least 20 of them are suffering of its symptoms. The cases are turning more and more severe. One of the patients reached the final state recently….he won't wake up; it's a matter of time until we lose him…"_

We were all wordless. Dreaming of a deceased one, a snowy manor, a woman covered in tattoos and a mysterious pain when waking up…. We'd experienced all of them; that meant we were suffering from this disease?

"No way….are we actually sick of that?" I said outloud.

"It's not a disease, Mai…" Rei said crossing her arms over her chest "The doctors called it that, but it couldn't be an illness. The final stage of NDS; it's so physically unlikely, that there's no way that it is a mere disease…"

"What's the final stage?" Naru asked.

" The patients affected required of some previous disposition; all of them had been involved in fatal accidents or experienced some traumatic first stage of the disease, involved having a recurrent dream about an old manor, they called it the "manor of sleep". In the second stage, the image of a diseased someone appears in their dream asking to be followed; they will lead the patient to a mysterious tattooed woman. In the third stage, the patients suffer of disturbing and sometimes violent hallucinations in their awaken time; cronic hard pains and appearance of singular bruises. As the illness progresses, the patient spends longer times sleep than awaken, and the bruises expand over the body. The final stage, the patients simply vanishes leaving only a trace of black ashes.

I chill ran through my body as I heard Kei's voice. It couldn't be…couldit?

"So it's almost like they burned spontaneously?" Aki asked.

"Exactly! Physically unlikely…" Rei added " There's no way that a biological creature might do auto ignition, and if they could there's no way it would go so far to be reduced to ashes…"

"That suggest a supernatural cause. Apparently many of the ill patients actually "vanished", and so the government thought their souls might have remained in the hospital ruins. That's why they wanted to clear the place before it was destroyed…"

"Very interesting, Kei-san…but why does it concern us?" Naru asked frowning impatient.

"It concerns us because…we are suffering it…" I said quietly.

My friends looked me; even Lin-san turned on his chair a looked at me with his taciturn eyes.

"We didn't follow the complete pattern though…" Hikaru said " It seems like we skipped a couple stages…"

"Yeah…but despite that it seems pretty much the same. The dreams with the manor and the shadow of a death…"

"But…how?" Bou-san said " You were investigating the shrine, not the hospital…the curse should have remained in the hospital"

"But if the place was taken down to built the road; the road is the one cursed?" John said.

"If that was the case…anyone who steps on it would be cursed, too…" Ayako replied "Not only them; the workers and the neighbors, too."

"I've got a theory…" Kei said "The hospital was located 300m from here, around the cross roads with the old road. Let's say the curse started here, in this shrine. Since it was abandoned a unknown to the people; no one ever got close…so…the curse traveled to the surroundings reaching the patients at Hanakirim."

"That doesn't explain why any of the neighbors fell for it…"Ayako complained.

"Since it wasn't the place of the curse itself, the curse is much weaker. People who are psychologically unstable are more likely to be affected by paranormal influence, than a sane person…"

"So…they were practically open to receive the curse…" Bou-san said thoughtful "That makes sense…"

"But none of us were psychologically unstable…then why?"I asked.

" I might know the answer to that…" John said "That's because you entered to cursed land, right?"

"Hmmm…a curse that spreads on its victims as a disease…" Naru said rubbing his chin deep in thought "It certainly is interesting. Very well...we shall start over what Kei-san just told us…You said your familily kept the records of the hospital? "

"Yeah…"

"Yasuhara-san and Madoka should be here by tomorrow. You'll go with them to check on those records. I want all the information we can get from those patients and any other data regarding this shrine…"

"Yes, sir…"

"Hey….Naru. How do you expect us to take this case? If the kid is right anyone who steps on that shrine will get cursed…"Ayako complained " Are you planning to risk us all by sending us in there?"

"The old hag is actually right. Naru…is bad enough to have this four cursed already. What are you going to do if we all get cursed too?"

"If you're so scared about the case; you're welcome to leave. Risky or not, there is no other way to handle this…" Naru said with a piercing glare "If we can solve this case, the curse won't be a problem at all…"

Looking it from that side, Naru was right, but still…Having them risk their life and sanity, was too much.

"We'll set the equipment…" Rei said "The four of us are already cursed….so that won't be a problem. If we hurry we can cover the whole place…"

"Well that sounds fair…" Kei said dropping his shoulders.

"Can you handle it?" Naru said lifting his eyebrow " You are only four…"

"We'll handle it Naru. I'm always setting up the equipment…so it's not the first time I do it…" I said cheerfully "We'll be fine…."

Naru reflected it for a while, but he finally sighed.

"Very well…I'll leave the setting to the four of you…" Naru said "Takigawa-san and Brown-san…you'd get the equipment ready for them; that should rush the things. Matsuzaki-san…I want you to prepare some protective charms, Hara-san can help with that; Sasaki-san…I want you to check on the surroundings. Make sure you don't enter the shrine. I want to see how large it is…"

We all nodded. It was too bad for Naru…but it seemed like I wouldn't be able to prepare his tea that often this time…


	59. Chapter 59

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**Hello…here's another chapter. It isn't edited so it may content mistakes and other stuff. Hope you like it anyway… :3**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #10**

By the end of the day, the four of us returned to the tent pretty much exhausted. Setting all the cameras between four people was certainly challenging; especially when this place was so big.

Naru didn't even look at us when we entered the tent. He was reading the papers that Kei had brought and checking on the pictures we'd taken the first day. The rest of the team was sitting around a table with some snacks; since there was nothing for them to do, the only thing left for them was to sit there.

"Mai…Tea" Naru said automatically as I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah right; of course I'll make you tea you arrogant, inconsiderate exploiter…" I mumbled to myself.

"Did you find anything new outside?" Rei asked sitting next to Bou-san.

"Bushes and a lot of weeds…nothing concerning this case" Bou-san replied "The place is cleaner as anything I've seen before; but it makes no sense…"

"I felt the same way, the first time I entered here…" Hikaru said quietly " But Rei said something different…and Kei , too"

"I never said anything about a spirit, though…" Kei commented "One way or another…this place is odd…"

"I admit…I get a very strange feeling from this place…" Masako said quietly.

"For a shrine to abandoned like this one…it's weird it feels empty right?" I commented pouring the tea in the cups "Usually shrines should feel divine or "evil"…"

"Eh? What do you mean by that, Mai?" Ayako asked me puzzled.

"Well…if a shrine has a god…then it'll feel pure almost divine; but when the god abandons its shrine, the place turns to a gathering spot for wandering spirits…or so I've heard…" I replied smiling as I scratched that back of my head " When I was in high school…abandoned shrines were very popular for courage tests."

"It is true though…" Aki said.

"How ironic…." Bou-san commented " A sacred land profaned like that by spirits…"

"Well, evil spirits often act like that since it's a way to defy or degraded god" John said "Taking something that is meant to be sacred and then taint it. I"

"Anyway…I think we need to secure the base, just in case that something shows up while we aren't here….." Rei said getting up.

"I already put some charms around the tent… You don't need to do anything…" ayako said smiling with pride.

"You should definitely do something…"Masako added with a sort of malicious smile "Those charm are most likely useless after all… Especially if Ayako made them…"

"What did you say, Masako?" Ayako asked with an annoyed smile " I don't recall you being anyhow useful today…"

Masako didn't reply. She simply looked away gracefully ignoring Ayako's comment.

"Eh…guys, stop arguing would you?" I laughed nervously.

" By the way, Naru" Bou-san said glancing at him with .

Naru raised his look from the papers and his blue eyes stared directly at Bou-san.

"Yes Takigawa-san?"

"It's getting late. Is there anything else you need us to do?"

"Nothing else for today…. I'll stay here with Lin-san monitoring the screens tonight. Rei-san and Sasaki-san, you'll stay here, too. The rest of you can go"

"I can stay, too…" I offered.

"No…you'll go back to the inn, Mai." Naru replied looking back to his notes "You'll fall sleep if you stay anyway. Go back to the inn, and sleep so that tomorrow you wont be snoozing in worktime…"

I glared at him. What was that supposed to mean? Well, he'd have to survive his night without _my _tea then.

…_Diling…._

_Bells? Yes…it was the sound of bells again; the creepy sound of bells cutting through the silence of the dark hall. I was in the manor again, what meant I was dreaming. I didn't recognize the room, though. There were tatami mats all over the floor and an old empty sliding closet in a corner._

"_Where am I?" I asked myself. It would be a great moment for Gene to show up; but it seemed that he wouldn't be around this time, either._

_I stood up and rubbed my arms. The place was incredibly cold; I could see my breathing escaping my lips. The whiff almost glowed in the darkness._

"_I wish I had a torch…" I sighed looking around "I can hardly see…"_

_Suddenly something seemed to lit up behind me. I was frozen on my spot. Was it the ghost? _

_I took a deep breath and turned around slowly preparing myself to chant the warding spell if necessary ( I wasn't sure it'd work though). The bell tinkled near my ear and I looked. A small pink orb floated gently over my shoulder. I recognized it almost instantly. _

"_You're…Sakuya…right?" I said softly. The small orb tinkled again. _

_It was one of the twin's shiki, but why was it here?_

"_Why are you here?" I asked even when I knew I wouldn't hear her reply. It was weird though, it was like I suddenly understood it. _

"_Rei send you to protect me in my dreams, didn't she?" I asked with a smile. _

_I surely had to thank her properly once I woke up. At least now, I didn't feel so lonely and I almost felt safe. _

"_I guess we should go…" I said " I won't wake up if I stay here waiting, right? Now that we are here I should try and figure more about the case. Can you show me the way out of this room?"_

_Sakuya flew around me and then moved in front of me, waiting to be followed. I walked behind her and I reached a small wooden door. I knelt and pulled the door until it was finally open. It was small, so it meant I'll have to crawl through it, but being with Sakuya certainly made me feel better. _

_I went through the door and reached a wooden corridor with many windows. I walked to one of the windows and looked through it. It opened to some sort of yard with a stone path and some leaves- less trees. It seemed like a pretty traditional old garden. It was snowin, and a sudden chill ran up my spine, a soft song reached my ears and I recognized it immediately I had heard that song before, earlier when we were sitting in the grass in front of the tent…the song about a priestess..._

_Suddenly, I saw it… a line of white people walked slowly through the stone pat. It was some sort of…procession…_

"_Where are they going…?" I whispered._

_I soft crack behind me made me jump. I turned around just in time to see a white robe dashing by the corner of the hallway. Without doubting to much I ran after it with Sakuya floating by my side. _

_I knew that was something stupid to do, but still…something told me I had to follow it. When I reached a dead-end I saw a little girl standing at the end of the hallway. In font of what seemed to be some kind of…door._

_The girl was a lot younger than me. She wore a miko's clothing and her hair was tied in two braids. The girl stared at me sadly before vanishing into thin air. _

"_What…was that?" I said puzzled. _

_There was a charm pasted over the door, it was the weirdest charm I'd seen. It looked like a paper charm like the ones Ayako made, but it had the sahpe of a doll. I tried opening the door, but it didn't move at all. It was locked…_

"_That's weird…" I said staring at the door._

"_Reika…" a low lamenting voice said behind me._

"_Huh?" my heart skipped a beat._

_I looked back slowly and let out a soft scream. There was a tall a woman wearing a long black kimono stood there. Her long hair covered half of her face. She turned to me with a wicked look that froze me to dead and then disappeared._

_I sighedin relief, but before I could move away…._

"_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I screamed with all my lungs. _

_The woman in the black kimono had caught my leg and she was pulling all the way through the corridor. I tried desperately to grab something, but my hands kept slipping away._

"_Help me!" I cried out._

_Sakuya flew against the woman. The woman left out a scream of pain and released me. I panted heavily while I watched how the woman fought trying to escape Sakuya's attack. I crawled back to the door , but before I could reach it…She was there…._

_The woman with the tattoo's stood there staring straight at me, though, I couldn't make out her eyes from among the black tattoos all over her face. My body was frozen, I couldn't move, all I wanted in that moment was waking up. That was all I needed… a piercing pain ran all over my arm and then everything went black…._


	60. Chapter 60

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**I don't know but for some weird reason I felt like this chapter took me forever. O.O**

**Anyway, our cursed group seems to be moving forward into the manor, and so the curse spreads…If you 'd played Fatal Frame III you'll know what I mean ;P. I want to let you know that I'm actually changing a little the manor from it original design (in the game) the first reason is because I played this game long time ago and I actually can't remember the exact locations and also because the manor changes its structure depending of who enters…so I won't stick to the original.**

**Enjoy**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #11**

I jerked up from the futon throwing the comforter aside. My breathing was heavy and agitated, and my forehead was covered in sweat. A sudden pain ran all the way up my arm to my shoulder. It felt like my skin was being ripped from my arm; the burning sensation over my muscles made me shrink in pain.

The pain last a couple of minutes before it finally faded away, leaving me breathless and sweating even more.

I heard the door slide open. In a blink of an eye, I saw everyone entering my room ith pale faces. Ayako knelt by my side and rubbed my back gently; Bou-san looked; John sat by my side; Masako walked around the room covering her mouth with the sleeve of her night kimono; Hikaru wasn't around, and standing in front of the door was….

"Naru?" I said in a trembling voice "What…What are you doing here?"

"It seems like one of the shikis from the Abe girl was keeping an eye on you. Apparently it told her that something wasn't right with you. Naru came to check on you…" Bou-san said.

Naru walked into the room and knelt in front of me. His look as deep as always; his blue eyes sinking into mines.

"Mai…did you had a dream with the shrine?"

"Uh…I did…"I replied rubbing my head. "It was a horrible dream…"

"Uh…you too…" Naru said grabbing his chin in thought.

"What do you mean, Shibuya-san?" John asked.

"Uh? Hikaru-chan! Where's Hiakru-cahn? "

"Don't worry, Mai I'm right here..." Hikaru's voice replied- She was standing by the door holding a cup; behind her was Yasuhara.

"I'm sorry, Mai-chan. Hikaru-chan seemed to be uneasy so I took her for a cup of tea. Here I got you one, too…" Yasuhara said. He offered me the cup and I took with trembling hands.

I hadn't realized how shaky I was. Ayako put away the hair from my face in a nice motherly gesture.

"My goodness…you're freezing, Mai." She cried out.

Bou-san picked the comforter form the floor and put it over my shoulders.

"Thank you…" I said before turning back to Naru " What are you doing here Naru? Is Rei okay?"

"She's okay…" Naru replied " She fell asleep a little before midnight. When she woke up she was really uneasy and told me to check on you…."

"Uh?" Hikaru and I gasped puzzled.

" Rei….fell asleep?" I said" She's never fallen sleep when she is on duty…"

"You're right. Rei-san wouldn't fall sleep in worktime like you would…" Naru said coldly "What makes think…This ghost can induce sleepiness to its victims…"

"Induce sleepiness?" I said horrified.

"This ghost seems manipulate the dream, too. Mai, Momoka-san, get ready. We 're heading to the base as soon as you're ready…"

"What? Hold on a second Naru…." Ayako said angrily "You can't do that! It's not even morning yet. Look at their face, they're exhausted. We should let them rest a little more before…"

"They can rest once the case is over" Naru said carelessly.

"What you…?" Ayako snapped.

"Naru, that's not reasonable at all…" Bou-san interrupted "Even for you…"

Naru ignored them and walked to the door without looking back.

"I'll be waiting outside. The rest of you may join if you're interested. If not, you're welcome to go back to bed…"

Naru walked to the hallway while Ayako looked pissed at his back.

"This is stupid…That Naru…what is he thinking? He doesn't worry about the health of these two…" Ayako said indignantly.

"You're wrong…" John said " I think, Shibuya-san is actually doing this because he's worry…"

"What?" We all said.

"I mean…if you sleep again you might enter that dream again. If that happens…wouldn't the curse spread quicker?"John said.

"Well now that you say it…it does make sense…" Bou-san said.

"Isn't great, Mai-chan? The boss is actually so worried about you…" laughed Yasuhara.

"Oh, shut up…" I said " Get out…I need to get dressed or Naru will kill me.

When my friends left the room, I rushed into the bathroom to dress up; leaving the room to Hikaru to change.

I stared at my reflection at the mirror. I actually did look tired. This ghost was really messing with my precious sleeping hours. I picked up the brush and started combing my hair when I saw something in the mirror that made my heart almost stop. A short girl with a shrine maiden's outfit passed running behind me. I turned around in horror only to find nothing there. I was completely alone in the bathroom. Was I imagining things?

"Mai…" Hikaru's voice called me from the other side of the closed door "Are you ready?"

"Eh? Y-yes…I'm coming"

Without thinking much about what I just seemed to see I went out to the bathroom and left the room with Hikaru.

Rei was sitting in front of the table with a light mantle over her shoulders, Aki was next to her and she was whispering something to her and surprisingly, Kei was also there already. Lin-san was typing something in front of the screens, but he turned to us as soon as we entered the tent.

"Noll…" He said.

"I know. Shall we hear out what did you all see?" Naru said sitting down. "Mai..."

"Uh, Yes!"

I told them all the details of my dream: the woman in the black kimono, the sealed door and the little girl with the braids. My voice stopped when I mentioned the little girl. I remembered seeing her back in the bathroom…had it being real?

"The woman in a black kimono…"Hikaru said "I might have seen her too…(**1)**. She didn't see me though…I only saw her pass, but I heard her cries…she kept calling for her child..."

"Where were you, Momoka-san?" Naru asked with his deep eyes on us.

"I woke up in one of the rooms I visited earlier. The large room with the hearth…"

"I see…" Naru added writing down something.

"When I met her she was calling for someone…Reika…I think… could that be her child?"

"I don't know…" Hikaru answered "Back then she just kept saying "My child" over and over. I never heard a name…"

"Mmm…Kei-san, can you tell me the location you had in the dream?"

"Uh? I was in one of the hallways that go to the tree garden. Why?"

"Rei-san was in a room filled with kimonos…right here" Naru said showing us the blueprint that Hikaru had done. He had put thumbnails over the spots where Kei, Hikaru and Rei had "woken up" in their dreams "Judging by Mai's description…we can only guess she must have been somewhere around here" he added pointing at a large portion of the eastern side of the building.

"What's up with that?" Bou-san asked frowning.

" We had some responses in the equipment tonight. A little pass midnight…" Naru said "The equipment located in three of the locations I selected showed a positive response…"

"Eh?" I said puzzled.

"Just as I expected, the spots that showed activity matches with the spots the three of you woke up in your dream state…"

"No way…" Bou-san said with his eyes wide open.

"The only spot missing would be Mai's; but Mai said it was an unknown place; so it must be somewhere in the blocked area…"

There was an awkward silence between us. Bou-san looked at Ayako and she bit her lip in worry.

"That means their dreams are being reflected into reality?"Bou-san said "Is it even possible?"

A sudden shudder ran down my spine. When we talked about the dreams, it wasn't that scary, because I kept telling myself that they were only dreams; but the thought of something actually happening in reality while I was dreaming, made me scared.

"We are yet to confirm it. Rei-san dreamtime actually matches the moment when the activity started and ended; but since we were not able to monitor the rest of you, there's no way to assure the time might have been a simple coincidence. "

"What do you mean by dreamtime?"

"The moment when I fell asleep to the time I woke up…" Rei explained.

"I'm actually interested in Mai's dream the most…" Kei commented "The sealed door sounds thrilling…"

"Yeah, that's true. Why would the door be sealed? Do you think the people from this shrine wanted to keep intruders away from something getting in?"

"Or out…"Naru said " Kei-san, is there any chance that you might guess what's there if you indentify the charm Mai saw?"

"I won't be able to tell it for sure, but I might get an idea whether is to keep in or out…"

"Very well…Mai can you remember it clear?"

"I think I can…" I replied thoughtful.

I cast myself back into the dream, and fro a bit…I could picture the door in front of me, almost as if I just needed to stretch my hand to touch it.

"It was a paper charm with human shape. It was pasted over the door with a wood stake…" I said "There were some letters written on it..but it was too worn out to be readable…"

"Human shape?" Aki said "Kei…"

"Uh" Kei replied. He dug in his pocket and pulled out something. It was one of the paper spells I'd seen him and Rei use. It was blank and it had the shape of a doll. " Did it look like this?"

"Yeah!"I said.

"Isn't that a hitogata?" Ayako asked "That kind of things can't be use for sealing…"

"Indeed. If what you want is to perform a sealing it's better to use and _ofuda(2)_. I wouldn't say it's impossible though…"

"You mean they actually sealed the door using a paper doll…" Ayako asked skeptically.

" Does it have any particular meaning?" Naru said ignoring Ayako.

"To tell the truth… I have no idea why would they use it. Perhaps they wanted to bind a spirit to the seal? I can't tell… I'll need to check it myself."

"What chance do we have to find that door in the present?" Bou-sam asked.

Everyone looked each other puzzled. I could tell they were thinking the same thing I was. I'd seen the door in my dream; it didn't mean the door actually existed.

"Well there's only one thing left to do in these cases.." Rei said getting up causing the mantle to fall to the ground " Time to grab some tools and start digging our ways deeper into this place…"

"You'll dig all the way on your own?" John said concerned " Won't it be too much for the four of you alone?"

"It can't be helped…we don't want to drag anyone else into this" Rei said " Never you mind…I can't handle it. We've got a trick under our sleeves. Leave the hard work on us, right Kei?"

"Eh? Sounds like the heavy work will lay on me…I'm the only guy in the cursed group!"

"Oh, shut up…." Rei said hitting her brother in a playful manner.

"Very well. I'll leave that task to you then."

"Naru!" Ayako complained.

"Don't worry Ayako…we'll be fine…" I calmed here.

She looked at me annoyed; and seemed ready to snap at me, but fortunately Kei interrupted…

" Yeah…about that, before you keep fighting… Can we get some breakfast first? " Kei asked rubbing the back of his head, a loud growl broke the sudden silence and Kei seemed emabrrased " Hehe…seems like I'm actually starving…"

A sudden laugh broke between us. It felt nice to be laughing, being worried about those dreams had actually made me a little stoic, and I could see that all the situation was affecting the others, too. With that, the atmosphere seemed to relax…

I guess we needed a break, because things wouldn't be any easier from now on…

**(1) Since it's "dream world", Hikaru isn't blind when she enters the manor of sleep. So she was indeed able to see and move more freely than in the real world. I figured it'll make sense that she wouldn't have the inabilities she has in reality when she is in a dream state, because they are actually counting on their psychic capacity while they're in the manor.**

**(2) This another name given to the paper charms.**

**I got a question to those who has played the game? Which ghost do you think is the creepiest? **


	61. Chapter 61

GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES

Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.

Another chapter; once again I'm changing many details from the original game…lol…so I hope u don't mind. NEEDS EDITION so forgive the misspelling and grammar.

Enjoy

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before.

FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #12

"Ahh…this is pretty disgusting" Rei complained while she kicked a piece of wood out of her way. " Something I hate about digging into this kind of places…it's the bunch of vermin we cross paths with. I just hope there aren't centipedes…"

After the sun had raised. We had have a quick breakfast ( courtesy of Bou-san and John who had gone for it) and then we started open the way deeper into the manor. Ayako has been pretty much agasint the idea of leaving such a demanding task to three people (Hikaru wasn't able to help, for obvious reasons); but fortunately, Kei and Rei were great onmyouji and the had managed to get us some extra hands by using hitogatas.

"Is it really okay to make those spirits work like this?" I asked as I watched the spirits pulling debris out of the way.

"Don't mind about it" Kei said " They are our houses servants, after all. So they do this kind of task delighted…" Kei replied "IT's actually very practical. Don't worry it's not like with slave them or something" he added at looking my look " the spirits agreed to a contract at free will. By the end of the contract, they can move on."

"Most of the time they are spirits that regret their sins. In exchange of being bribed from going to hell, they agreed to serve a master, and once the master dies, and the contract is broken, their sins are forgiven; they can chose to move on or attend to a new master…"Rei added "Of course, since they're not corporeal, they wouldn't be able to perform the task; that's where the hitogata comes in handy…"

"It's been a tradition passed down the Abe clan for generations. To tell the truth I think that we have very few _living_ servants…."

"What are you talking about? When I visited you for the festival, a girl attended us"I said frowning.

"Oh…that's Mitsumushi…"Kei said " She's the oldest spirit who has served the Abe. "

"HEh? A spirit? No way!She was solid…! She even handed us tea!"

"Well yeah. I told you; the hitogata actually them physical appearance…" Rei said "Mitsumushi has been with the Abe since centuries ago. She even served Abe No Seimei in person…"

"I was actually served by a spirit and I didn't notice!" I cried out.

"Don't make fuzz of it…" Rei saidlooking at me " In the monmyouji world…that's actually very common. Besides, you probably crossed paths with a dozen of dead people and you didn't even notice. Not all ghosts are transparent or invisible…there are evn some that you see like perfectly living people…"

"It can't be helped…I'm still in shock" I said shaking my head to clear up my mind.  
"You still got a lot learn, Mai…"Kei sighed "Be grateful…without their help we wouldn't have advanced this far…"

"I am grateful. It just…feels awkward."

"Well enough of the ghost servants chatting…" Rei said breaking pulling out more wooden stakes " Let's change of topics…"

"To what? Honestly, it's not like the atmosphere inspires chit chatting…" I said honestly.

The wood pieces lying around, broken walls and doors; dark corridors…truly, this wasn't the greatest place for being into a social discussion. The whole place kept giving me chills.

"How about we talk about how worried, Shibuya-san was about you getting cursed?" Rei said in a playful voice.

"W-what? H-He's only interested in the case!"

"Ohh…would he be that interested, if his top favorite assistant wasn't doomed to die?"

"I'm not his top favorite assistant. I'm pretty sure Lin-san is assigned that title." I said pulling away more broken screens " I'm just the teapot…"

"Well…if you ask me, I think there's nothing Shibuya-san loves more than _his_ tea…"

"Ahh…stop it would you?" I said feeling my face growing red "It's not like that!"

"You're too dense to see it, Mai…" she said smiling.

"Honestly do you actually have to talk of such topic when I'm around?" Kei complained.

"What? It bothers you?" Rei asked smiling.

"Well…I'm a guy after all. Why do I have to hear you talk about those thing? Besides…you do realize, that Lin-san is hearing the whole conversation right?"

"What?" I cried out. My face felt awfully hot.

"It's not like he doesn't think the same anyway" Rei said carelessly " Ara…"

Rei stopped in her tracks looking in front. Kei, too, whimpered in surprise. The spirits that had been helping us ut had vanished and on their place, only a burning piece of paper in the shape of a human was left.

"The spell was broken" Rei said picking one of the burning dolls.

"Eh? Why?" I asked puzzled.

"Huh…we're probably close to you your sealed door. There's a strong spell here that inactivates other spells…"Kei said "Well…this is troublesome. Seems that we need to proceed on our own…"

"Well…good luck with that, Kei…" Rei said smiling,

"Eh? "

"You're a gentleman… aren't you?"

Kei rolled his eyes in annoyance; but her began to clear the way as well as he could. I kind of felt bad, but compared to the two of us, Kei was physically stronger so it couldn't be helped. I took us another hour to finally clear off the way.

"Well…at least we get some light in here…" Kei said after putting away the last piece of screen that blocked our way.

We had reached a hallway with windows; the sunlight came in through the open window screens, there was a lot of weed growing all over the place up to the ceiling. It looked in a worst condition than how it had looked in my dream, but still I could tell we were in the right place. . A cool air entered into the building making the place feel awfully cold and making us shiver.

"Oh…well I think we made it. Is this familiar, Mai?" Rei asked looking through the window.

I looked out, too. My heart started beating faster. Outside the window, I saw the same scenery I'd seen in my dream; the stone path was there, barely visible underneath the weed, and certainly in a worst condition; but it was there. I could almost see the white procession moving slowly down there.

"It's here" I said "The door _is_ in that way…"

"Uh…the path seems clear from here. Good news for me… my muscles are screaming in pain already." Kei asked " I already notified Lin-san of our intentions and Shibuya-san has agreed; shall we go?"

The three of us nodded and we walked into the corridor. Following the same route I did in my dream. We finally reached the door. It was there, closed with the paper charm nailed on the thick wood.

"Mai…you got the camera, right?"

I smiled and nodded. Naru had given us a camera with live streaming. Since the team couldn't get into the manor, at least they would see it with the camera. It had been a great idea, suggested by Yasuhara. I turned the camera so they would see the door and the paper charm on it.

"Hello there…ehm I guess you are watching this, right?" I said " Well…we made it inside without troubles. We found the door…it's still sealed…."

"Is there any chance to know what's behind that door?" Naru's voice asked from Kei's radio.

"Without breaking the seal, I doubt it…"Kei replied " The spell doesn't tell that much..."

"I see…" Naru whispered from the radio "Then…do you think you can't break it?"

"The seal? I certainly can…" Kei replied "But is it okay? I mean…without knowing what's behind it. Wouldn't it be too risky…?"

"It can't be helped if it's necessary. Kei-san..break the seal…" Naru said with a cool voice.

Was he crazy? Naru rarely acted this reckless, but here he was, commanding Kei to break a spell sealing god knows what.

"All right, this might take some minutes…" Kei sighed.

Kei had brought a bag with himself. I'd been wondering what was inside all this time, so naturally, I watched curiously how he opened it and began to take the stuff out of it: some red candle sticks, incense, sacred parchament, a stick with some _shide_ (1) and a bottle of what seemed to be wine.

"What's the wine for?" I asked puzzled.

"I need something to clear myself…" Kei replied.

"Don't listen to him. That's sacred sake…it's used to purify…" Rei said rolling her eyes "Well sit here. C'mon Mai…"

Rei and I sat down a little farther, from Kei. He had set the candle sticks and poured the sake around him. The incense was already burning in front of him as he waved the shide in front of him.

"_Tanitaya zarei makazarei uki moki arei arabati chiriti chiritahati chinii chinii shicchini nirichinii nirichihachi sowaka" _

Kei's mantras made an eco inside the hallway, his low voice almost sounded like a lullaby making me drowsy. The candles and the incense scent, wasn't helpful, either. It only made the situation sleepier. I tried to keep myself awake; my view turned blurry out of sudden. I had to close my eyes while I rubbed my face trying to clear my mind.

_When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to find myself alone. Kei and Rei were gone. I was alone, and in front of me, the door remained sealed by the paper charm. A sudden coldness ran down my spine, and turned around just in time to see a little girl in a shrine maiden's costume walk by my side. I recognized her at once; she was the girl in my dream…was I dreaming again?_

"_The darkness is thicker behind this door…" she said in a soft, almost un-hearable, voice "It's not her fault… She's just…blinded by her own pain…"_

"_She? Who's she…?" I asked._

"_Brother won't come back…."the girl said _

"_Your brother?" I said. Her words were a way too confusing. Was I actually dreaming?_

" _The sacrifices did not work…it's coming…"_

"_What?"_

_A soft sound made me look at the door. Similarly to what had happened to with Kei's and Rei's paper spells earlier, the charm was burning. A sudden cold feeling ran down my spine; it was a familiar feeling; a warning that came from my guts. I could suddenly hear Kei's voice, it sounded far, but I could make out the mantra almost clearly._

_The charm was almost burnt out, and sudden cry made me turn to the girl's ghost. She was shrunk against the wall holding her head. She seemed in pain. I walked to her, but when I was about to ask her if she was okay when her face turned at me. I gasped and retreat in horror, that face was no longer the little girl's, it had turned longer and paler, with light blue shade. Her eyes had become completely black and empty. The girl stretched her hand to grab me and I closed my eyes in fear. The last thing I saw, was the paper charm turning completely into ashes…._

_(1)_**Shide: it's a paper charm in zig-zag shape. It's very common in Shinto shrine, and sacred places. It's used to purify and protect. Onmyouji uses a stick with two shide hanging from the tip, though I can't remember the name of it nor could I find it.**


	62. Chapter 62

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**Thanks for the reviews! I got a review asking me why I haven't paired Mai and Naru yet… well to clear this up. I like the couple…yes…but I've seen a lot of fan fiction with them paired up already. My main focus isn't their romance, but more the cases. I want to stick to the main line of GH…MaixNaru is a cannon already, but I just think that, at least for now, I can't picture them as boyfriend&girlfriend…sorry to disappoint you. I won't say it won't happen, but I won't promise either. My main interest in here is making new cases that get your attention and wake your interest… I'm working hard on it. So I apologize to all the reader who are waiting for me to make them a couple *bows***

**I just began this story with the idea to give people who were looking for a story that was more focused in the cases, because I haven't seen many; and I'm really doing my best to make it sound as much similar to the original as I can…... Well enough of the discussion….**

**Enjoy the chapter**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #13**

I snapped out when my arm hit the dusty floor. Had I fallen asleep? No, it didn't seem like. I looked around a bit confused; Rei was sitting by my side. Her eyes were on her brother while her hands played carelessly with a random piece of wood. Kei was sitting surrounded by the candle sticks and he was still chanting a mantra; the incense stick had was almost burnt out and the spell paper was still on the door untouched; so it must have been a sort of dream…

"Are you okay, Mai?" Rei asked me.

"Eh? Y-yes…why?"

"You look pale…"she said turning to me.

"R-really?" I said holding my cheeks " I guess it must be the light. I'm fine. Isn't Kei done yet?"

"Nope…it's an old spell, with many layers on it; in order to break, it requires a bit of effort…" she replied smiling at me " Don't worry about him. He's a expert in this things….so don't let Shibuya-san hear you that worried about it? We don't want him to take it wrong…"

"What's that supposed to mean…?" I said frowning.

Rei simply smiled and turned back to her twin. Kei had risen from the floor and with a solemn attitude; he walked to the door and picked the charm from the door. He made sure to not touch the paper with his fingers; instead he used a piece of white cloth. He made 4 bows, facing different directions while he whispered something; finally, he put the clot and the charm into a vase and used the remaining piece of burning incense to set the paper on fire.

It burned quietly with a golden flame; the image made me shudder. It reminded me of how the charm had burnt in my pseudo-dream. I strange feeling began to built inside me, but I couldn't tell what it was.

Kei clapped a couple times and then que stood up quietly and turned to us.

"Well…it's done" Kei said " The seal has been broken…"

"All right…let's take a look…" Rei said " Open it…."

Kei nodded. He walked to the door and began to pull it. The door seemed to be a little stuck due the years, so it took him a little struggle before it could open. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath, until the door opened with a creak and then….A black curtain surrounded us; it happened so quickly that I could barely react to it. The last thing I saw was Rei pushing me down, while she shielded me against the closest wall.

"Don't breath, Mai…and close your eyes…" she muttered to me.

I covered my mouth and nose with my hands, and shut my eyes tightly. I had no idea of what was happening; was it ghost? Was it something else? I was running out of air already, and I wouldn't be able to hold my breath anymore…

"It's ok, now…" I heard Rei's voice a little weak " You can open your eyes, Mai…uhuh…"

I opened my eyes, and what I see shocked me. The corridor was totally black (including the three of us). Everything was covered by a layer of black dust: our clothes, our hair, our faces…what was this?

"Soot…" coughed Kei " What the freaking hell? Where the Makuro Kuronosuke**(1)** having a party here or what?"

" The soot must be a remnant of the smoke of the incense they used to burn in here. It must have been stuck between the hinges for years. When you opened the door it must have come loose…"Rei said cleaning her face as good as she could " What's inside?"

"Can't see…it's too dark…" Kei replied.

Rei waved her hand and the blue flames appeared lighting what was behind the door. It was some sort of passage. It wasn't as torn off like the ones we had seen, and at first sight, it seemed solid.

"Well…what a surprise…another passage" Kei sighed sarcastically "Honestly…this place is just like a maze. I feel like trapped in an RPG"

"You're playing to many games, Kei…" Rei said peeking into the passage "Should we go?"

"Well…let's ask Shibuya-san…he's the boss…." Kei said turning to me.

"What?" I said puzzled.

"Don't come what on me…you're the one with the camera…"Kei said frowning.

"Oh, yeah…sorry"

I pulled out the camera and realized that the lens was completely covered by the soot. I cleaned it with a handkerchief and began to record the passage. In the screen, the passage looked a hundred times creepier and the dim blue fire light didn't help.

"Shibuya-san…Shibuya-san. Can you hear me?"Kei said into the radio.

"I hear you. Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, we're fine. We could use a bath, though. The door is open. Shall we proceed or what?"

"We'll leave it here, for today…I want the three of you back to base. Yasuhara-san is on his way here, and it seems like he has some information to share. I want the whole team to be present…"

"All right. We're heading out…"

Kei pulled down the radio and turned to us.

"You heard him. Let's get out from here. I could use some fresh air , too…"

The twins were talking while they headed back to the main corridor. I was about to follow when, for some reason, I turned to look at the door one last time. It was just for a second, but I could swear someone had been standing in there and looking straight at me…

"Mai…don't stay behind. The last thing we need is you getting lost…" Rei said waking me from my thoughts.

My friend grabbed my arm and pulled back with them. The way out was a lot much quicker than the way in, maybe because it was easier to move through those hallways now. It was a quiet trip outside, but the whole time, I had the awkward feeling of being watched. I can't say, I wasn't relieved when I was sitting comfortably in the base with a wet towel and my face clean from all that soot.

Yasuhara arrived a little after us, and, as usual, the first thing Naru made me do before he began sharing his information, was tea. Yasuhara was smiling as usual, but I saw black bags under his eyes, and it was pretty obvious that he hadn't sleep in a couple days. It made me a feel a little guilty, so I made sure to brew him an extra tea.

"The Abe Archive is simply fascinating…" he said cheerfully " You have no idea of what you can find in there…"

"Something useful…I expect"Naru said staring at him.

"Well of course. I doubled checked the files from the hospital. There weren't many clues in there beside the things the patients claimed to see in their dreams; but…the visitor records, lead me to something interesting…."

"What was that, Yasuhara-san?" John asked putting down his cup.

"A little before the hospital closed down. It was visited by a writer name Asou Yuu. Apparently, he was some sort of folklorist who was writing a book about urban legends, and he asked to have an interview with the chief doctor…"

"And interview? Why would he want something like that?" Ayako asked.

"He was writing about an urban legend that sounded pretty similar to the cases reported in the hospital. The "Manor of Sleep" , according to Asou, was a legend that began to spread around the 1960's, and it seems that it was related to a many mysterious spirited away cases that happened in the 1900's. The man actually got a lot of data, about it. There a little information about the shrine…though, it isn't much, but using this information…I managed to find something in the Abe archive. I found a pretty generous book that talked about the Kuze Shrine…it's a little long and it's written in acient Japanese, so it needs a little bit of brain to make it out. I'll let you know when I finish with it…"

"Well…it would be a good idea to speak with the Asou guy. If he was writing about it…he probably knows more details…" Bou-san suggested.

"I actually thought that too…" Yasuhara added " But it seems like Asou-san died in a car accident a month after he visited the hospital. It seems like it was a nasty accident, and only his fiancé survived…"

"What about her? She might have known something, too…" Ayako added.

"Impossible. The lady disappeared two months after the accident…" Yasuhara replied.

"Dissapeared…?" we all said puzzled.

"Wait a second…" Rei said " she lost her fiancé and then disappeared…couldn't it have been? She fell under the curse, too?"

"There's no way to prove that, unfortunately. What else did you find?"

"It seems like Asou had some research material for that book. Some members of the Abe family are trying to localize that material. Also…it seems like the cases weren't limited to Hanakirim Hospital only….there were a couple of similar cases in other hospitals as well…"

"Then the hospital isn't the source…" Aki commented " what is it, then?"  
"I have absolutely no idea…but I believe this book about the Kuze shrine might give us a clue…."

Naru was thoughtful once more. He grabbed his chin and began to walk around the tent.

"It is another passage… right?" Naru said thoughtful while he checked the blueprint that Hikaru had drawn for us "We can find out where it takes tomorrow…"

"What? You don't actually intend to send them deeper inside, are you?" Ayako snapped at him " I don't need to remind you that it's completely unreasonable and insane. For god's sake…"

"Well…if you have any better idea of how to break this curse…then I'll be delighted to hear it, Matsuzaki-san…" Naru said coldly " To how I see it we don't have many choices. We get deeper into this place in reality and find a way to break this curse, or we let them move deeper into the shrine inside their dreams and lose them…which do you think is more reasonable?"

Ayako bit her lip. She didn't know how to reply. I looked at Naru, the boy with the black hair and the deep blue eyes looked serene, but he was probably uneasy. After all…he could be and idiotic jerk…but he had a good heart and he cared about all of us….

"We'll do our best…" I said cheerfully "I'm sure we'll be okay in there, Ayako, so none of you need to worry…"

My friends looked at me with worry, but I smiled. I wasn't going to let myself be beaten by a stupid dream curse, so I would give my best as always, and I wasn't alone either. Kei and Rei smiled at me and nodded.

That ghost could forget about making us her next victims….

**(1) This is a reference to the soot spirits created by GHIBLI. It seems like Kei likes their movies (?)**

**I'm adapting the story form FF the tormented so that it fits to the fic's plot. So the modification of details show up again in this chapter.**

**I hope you liked the chapter. And sorry for any mistake or stupidity written. If you see anything plz tell me and I'll fix it **

**: )**


	63. Chapter 63

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**New chapter. NEEDS EDITION. Sorry guys I started school this week so I haven't had a proper time to finish editing this. I just thought I'd upload for you. Forgive misspelling or any other mistakes….**

**Enjoy the chapter**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #14**

The rest of the day passed by quicker than expected; Naru didn't make us enter the manor again, for a strange reason. He kept saying that we'd leave the exploring for tomorrow and that we should try to take it easy at least for today. It was the first time Naru was actually being nice (something really bad was going to happen; there was no way that he'd be nice out of sudden! It was Naru after all)

Under Naru's command; the four of us were supposed to remain in base tonight. I guess Naru wanted to test his theory about the sleeping hour. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I was sitting in the improvised bed in base. All my body ached as if I had been running up a mountain for the whole day! Without warning, I found myself dozing, and falling sleep…

_I woke up, once again, laying on a dusty old tatami. For a strange reason I kept waking up in rooms like this one. I found three brilliant orbs flying around me like fireflies. I knew they were the twin's shiki taking care of me and I smiled. I had forgotten to thank them for the last time…I should do it properly as soon as I woke up. _

_I sat down trying to recognize this new room, but, as expected, I didn't. There was nothing recognizable from this place._

_I was so cold, and the darkness made me were weird sounds coming from all directions, and I couldn't see a single thing. Something in my gut told me that a ghost might appear anytime soon…and that was something I really didn't want to experience again…so soon…_

_I pulled myself together to stand up. It was no useless to remain here; ghost or not ghost it was better if I moved. I walked to the nearest door and pulled it. The door slid easily with a dry sound and I found a corridor barely lit by candles outside. That was new…up until now, there hasn't been a single light. _

_I stepped into the corridor a little anxiously; but the place was deserted…not livings, nor spirits were in there; only a bunch of old cabinets and boxes posted against the walls; there were some torn cloths hanging from the ceiling and they moved creepily with an unknown breeze. The whole place gave me chills while I walked through it rubbing my almost frozen arms. _

_A sudden chime made me look behind me. A little glow was approaching me, fluttering from side to side of the hallway. It was getting closer, and I realized that it was…_

"_A butterfly?" I said puzzled._

_It was; tiny and delicate. Its blue wings moved gracefully irradiating a soft glow. It was obvious that it was some kind of spirit, but it didn't feel threatening; its aura was calm and somehow warming._

_The butterfly fluttered around me playfully; it even seemed to greet the shiki ( or perhaps I was imagining it); it flew in front of my face and the moved ahead in the hallway; I followed it quietly…my guts told me I had to. The spirit in that butterfly was trying to show me something, that's what I thought…_

_When we turned the corner, the butterfly was suddenly in front of my face and it gently stood on my lips. I realized that it was actually preventing me of making any sound; something moving in darkness made me look aside. It was the woman in the black kimono. She was walking down with her head down; like she was mourning or something…it was kind of scary and sad, at the same time. She passed by without even noticing me; her moans chilled me and I couldn't breathe quietly until she was totally gone._

_The butterfly flew away again, as if nothing had happened. I walked behind it, feeling totally puzzled. This butterfly had to be a spirit, but whose? Could it be Gene?_

_Gene hadn't shown since my fist dream. I was starting to feel worried. Perhaps he couldn't reach me…just like that time in Himuro. Was he okay?_

_My steps echoed in the lonely corridor. The candles were on the edge of hall and the flickering flames created a lot of creepy shadows against the walls that almost looked like spying spirits. _

_The butterfly kept flying straight, just as if it simply knew where to go. I kept following it blindly, I had no idea where it was taking me, or whether this was all a trap made up by the ghost…but somehow it felt like I had to follow it…_

_The butterfly suddenly stopped and it began to flutter up and down. It had stopped at some sort of window. It was really deplorable, the paper sheets have long fell off and all that was left was an empty wooden frame._

_There was rooftop outside, the snow was falling on it gently, forming ice crust all over the edge; I saw the naked branches of a tree I didn't recognize protruding between the roofs. _

"_What am I supposed to look at?" I said looking at the butterfly._

_The butterfly flew up and down in front of me, before finally stopping on the frame. I looked out puzzled and I saw something moving at the other side of the roof. I focused my and realized it was a person; it was…_

"_Rei…" I mumbled._

_It was indeed Rei. She was walking slowly with her hands spread to keep her balance on the roof. I had no idea of why she was there, but something in my gut told me it wasn't the right place for her to be. A black shadow began to build behind her, slowly taking a human shape. _

_I pushed myself against the window frame horrified. The shadow had turned in to a man, he may I had been the age of Naru, may be even younger. His hair was black; and he was wearing a kimono similar to Kei's. The apparition stretched his arm and then pushed Rei's back with a great force. _

_She staggered a little without even realizing what had just happened and fell. I cried in alarm, but to my relief, she had managed to catch the edge of the roof and was hanging of it. The ghost man knelt in front of her and grabbed her arm. It seemed like he was telling her something…_

_I had to go help her…somehow…._

"_Please…" I whispered to the butterfly "Please…lead me there! As quick as you can…I need to help her!"_

_I wasn't even sure if the butterfly understood me, but it flew into the darkness much quicker than it had before. I ran after it, begging that I could make in time and that I wouldn't meet with a nasty ghost on my way there. I turned one of the corners and an intense pain pierced my leg._

_I let out a scream. The pain had been horrible; it almost felt like a nail had crushed through my feet._

"_Hehe…" a soft laugh reached my ears._ _"You can't run away. You can never run away!"_

_I turned in horror. A girl with waist long black hair in a miko's attire was looking at me with wicked eyes. One of her hands was raised over her head holding a mallet, while the other was in front of her holding some sort of stake. I crawled backward trying to dodge her as she tried to nail me once more. The shiki attacked her immediately; I took this chance to run away; the butterfly had waited for me by the end of the hallway and as soon as I caught on it, it began to fly away once more. I met a couple of wandering spirits, but I paid no attention to them. _

_The butterfly took me to a room with a hand stair. It probably led to the rooftop, where Rei was. I hoped she was still there._

_I rushed up the stairs and opened trapdoor into the roof. It was awfully cold out there, and the snow hit my skin like cold blades. I looked around the trying to find Rei. Right in front of, me I saw the man kneeling at the edge of the rooftop…_

_I shrieked and ran to him. The man stood up and turned quietly. He was handsome, not much my type, though. His skin was as white as Naru's and his hair black, too; it was longer though. He looked straight at me with his chestnut colored eyes and then simply vanished. _

_I ran to the edge of the roof just in time to see Rei falling into the darkness…_


	64. Chapter 64

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**New chapter. NEEDS EDITION**

**Here's another chapter. I had to cut it since it was too long. So I'll try to upload the rest soon. **

**Enjoy the chapter**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #15**

I woke up startled. My futon was in a corner of the tent from where I could see Lin-san's profile traced against the light from the screens. Rei…

I jumped up from the futon making a lot of noise, what made Lin-san look at me. I ignored him and rushed to the corner where Rei was sleeping. When I reached it. I had to cover my mouth to avoid screaming in horror.

Rei was fully wake. She was holding her leg with a painful while a bruise began to spread fown her leg.

No, that wasn't a bruise. It was worse than that…those were lines. Black lines that curled in her skin, like a tattoo…and what was worst, two spirits seemed to be the ones carving the lines on her skin.

They were the creepiest ghost I had ever seen. Their skin was pale, almost grayish; they seemed to be females; they were topless and I could see the curve of her breast covered by their long black hair; their arms were covered in tattoos, except for their hands, those were totally black and covered by…needles?

Yes, long black needles came out from the skin on their hands. The ghost suddenly turned to me; what I saw froze the blood in my veins. They were blind. There was a white cloth with black patches in the spot where their eyes should had been, a dirty rope was passed through their eye sockets in a cross shape. They couldn't see me, but somehow, it felt like they knew I was there; it was almost like if they smell my scent in the air and heard my heart beating against my chest.

They stood there for a bit and then simply vanished into thin air leaving a panting Rei hugging her leg. It wasn't long before Naru appeared by my side, while I saw to blurs passing him to check on Rei. Kei was holding her by her shoulders, while Lin-san knelt in front of her and seemed to whisper something to her. She had her face hidden in her hands, and by the shake in her shoulders, I knew she was crying. A warm hand laid on my shoulder and I found Hikaru with a concerned look.

"Mai…" Naru said with a strangely soothing voice.

"Naru….Rei she…the ghosts….the man,…"

"Mai…I need you to calm down and tell me what happened.."

"G-ghosts! Two of them…they were here just now…t-they were…drawing the tattoos…"

"Tattoos?" Naru said frowning "What tattoos?"

"The tattoos in Rei's leg!" I cried out " They're there! The ghost were drawing them! Look!"

I pointed a Rei with my eyes wide open. How couldn't they see them? They have gone all the way down her ankle and disappeared under the shorts from her pajama. Perhaps they were even covering her upper body already.

"Mai…there's nothing there…" Naru said quietly.

"Nothing?" I looked back at Rei. He was right; Rei's leg was clean; her skin was white as milk, and there were no signs of black ink there "It can't be…it was there. I just saw it…"

I was speech less.

"Mai…when you woke up, you went straight to Rei-san…" Naru said " What did you see in your dream?"

"My dream…." I said trying to recover myself "I saw Rei…she…she was in the roof. Someone….a man…pushed her down. I wanted to help…but I was late….when I reached the place, she had already fallen…"

"You saw Rei-san with a man? How did that man look like?" Naru kept asking me "had you seen him before?"

"No…I'd never seen him. He was young; chestnut colored eyes, black hair…pale skin, tall…he wore a traditional kimono like the ones Kei wears. He saw me…but he just vanished when I arrived…"

" Uh…"Naru said grabbing his chin " Lin…call the others. We need a meeting, now…"

Lin-san stood up silently and nodded. He grabbed his mobile phone and went outside to make the call.

Kei was still rubbing his sister's back. It was the first time I'd seen her like that. Rei rarely seemed affected by anything. Like saying…she was always the strong one; I'm sure she must have felt scared or sad in some cases, but she never showed it. She knew that she needed to be strong for the other's sake….but right now, it was like a totally different person.

"Mai…come" Naru said walking to the table "You said you saw two ghosts in here?"

"I did…" I said " They were females…scary females…"

"Can you describe them?"

"Uh…they were pale…long hair. Topless, but they used shrine maiden's pants. Her arms were covered in tattoos, and their hands were black and pierced by needles. They were eyeless…they had a cloth with rope covering them…"

"Uh…you said they were doing something to Rei-san…."

"They were…_tattooing_ her… they were drawing the lines of the tattoo on her leg…" I said in a rush "Naru…you have to believe me…they really were"

"Mai…I haven't said I don't believe you…" he replied "You need to calm down…"

Naru poured a glass of water and pushed it to me. I looked at the glass in silence; I was too anxious to drink it.

Lin-san came into the tent with a quiet pace. He came to Naru and whispered something to him. The boy with the cobalt eyes nodded and the stoic assistant walked out of the tent once more.

"The rest of team is on their way here. They should arrive in a couple minutes. Yasuhara-san will bring something that I want you to see."

Something he wanted me to see? I wondered what it was. Naru didn't say anything for while. He was deep into his notebook without looking me.

Bou-san entered the tent followed by Ayako and John. Yasuhara came soon after with Aki and Masako who seemed a little annoyed to be awoken this late. It took a few minutes to explain every detail and the team listened with wide eyes.

"Mai!" Ayako said running to me "Are you okay?"

"Uh…I'm all right. It's Rei who isn't okay…"

"Rei?"Aki said.

"She's better now…" Kei said coming to us " She was a bit touched, that's all…"

"What happened?" Bou-san asked.

"Mai had a dream connection with Rei-san. It seems like they're not just havingdreams of the same place; most likely, they are sharing the same dream…" Naru explained.

"Having the same dream? It's that possible?"John said puzzled.

"It makes sense…" Kei said "We have been moving in the same dream but we haven't met. Until now only Mai has had the chance to cross roads with us…the first time with Hikaru, and this time with Rei…"

"I'm interested in the man…" Naru said thoughtful.

"It was shade. There's no doubt of it "

"How can you be so sure…" Ayako said "You weren't there, were you?"

"Rei told me…" Kei said " The man Mai saw was Katsuragi Rihito."

"Katsuragi….Rihito?" I said. The name didn't sound familiar.

"He was Rei's former fiancé. One of my father's best pupils, but he died in a case when we were 14 years old…"

"Fiancé?" we all snapped.

"It's a long story. The point is…it was definitely a shade. "

"I thought you said she refused to marry"

"She does now, she feels like she owes that to his memory…" Kei said "Rihito wouldn't hurt Rei…dead or alive, he wouldn't. That was a shade. The ghost manipulates our memories and feelings using them against us."Kei said "That's…what I think"

"Uh…yes. It seems like it is like that…" Naru said " There's also the detail of the ghost Mai saw in here…"

"Uh? The two women?" Bou-san said.

"Correct. Yasuhara-san….?"

"Yeah… I brought it with me…"

Yasuhara opened his way to the table and put a heavy and old book. HE began to pass the pages and finally stopped on one dirty page.

"This book seems to be the clue for this case…" Yasuhara said " The Abe were really meticulous while writing it. There a full explanation about the shrine in here. I haven't full read it yet, though…but when Lin-san mentioned what happened in the call, something flashed…"

" What? Talk already young man…" Bou-san said crossing his arms on his chest.

"The Kuze Shrine was run by the Kuze family. They were practioners of a peculiar type of Shinto that was based on the Waran Ningyo(1)…"

"Aren't those used to curse people?" asked John.

"What kind of shintoism is that?" Ayako said frowning.

"The worshippers would come once a year to leave all their worries, suffering and pain to _doll_. The doll was then nailed in one of the special chambers of the shrine, and with that the doll was supposed to take away all those negative feelings. "Yasuhara said pushing up his glasses "the thing is…this doll was actually a living person…"

We all gasped. What kind of ritual was that? The people of that shrine actually nailed a living person?

"It's extreme, I know. The woman was raised in the shrine to become a sacrifice. When the time came, the people's pain was carven into her skin as tattoos. Then she was taken into and underground chamber known as _The Chamber of Thorns, _and was nailed by shrine maidens known as _Pacifiers." _Yasuhara proceed " There were four of them. One for each limb that was supposed to be impaled…"

The whole room was in silence, no one dared to talk.

"Beside the _Pacifiers,_ there were also two other members of ritual called _Engravers. _This were tattoo artist that were brought into the shrine from outside when the new priestess was chosen. They were blinded in order to assure that they'd make the tattoos using their feelings rather than their eyes. They were also tattooed and their hands were pierced with iron needles to let them experience the pain that the priestess would…"

A cold chill ran through my body. Those were the ghost I'd seen with Rei. They'd been engraving the tattoos on her skin just as they did with the priestess. And they probably had done the same to Kei, Hikaru and me; but back then no one had seen them.

"Then the ghost is…" I said.

"The tattooed priestess…" Hikaru answered.

We all looked at each other. Our ghost had been revealed; the question now…how could we exorcise her?

(1) These are straw dolls that are used to curse. Usually used by woman, it was said that in order to perform the curse you had to nail a doll, with a hair or cloth 0f the person you want to curse, to a tree behind a shrine between 2:30 and 3:00 am. It's similar to vodoo


	65. Chapter 65

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**Here's another chapter. I think it's quite silly. I was a bit disperse while writing it, so sorry about that.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #16**

The fact that we knew who our ghost might be didn't help much at all. We had too many loose ghost was, most likely, the tattooed priestess, the thing was…which of all of them? There was also the matter of how were we supposed to exorcise her? It wasn't like anyone could get into our dreams and do it.

All our questions had been written down on the whiteboard; there were simply too many questions and very few answers. Naru had gone out with Rei and Lin-san. By the look on their faces while they walked out, it was certain that they had something to discuss. Kei was asked to stay behind, just in case anything happened while thye were gone. The boy seemed pretty happy to stay behind, though. It was obvious that the idea of waking between the weed in the middle of the night wasn't much his style.

"All right…how about telling all the facts we've got and see if we can tie them together and find the answer?" suggested Bou-san "That would be useful…"

"Sounds like a good idea" John agreed.

"Then I'll start…" Bou-san added " Mai and Hikaru came to Kyoto in order to study some haunted spots in here. They ended up in this place, and since it seemed suspicious they contacted the twins and asked for help…"

"They came and the four of them ended cursed by something…" corroborated John.

"And the curse led us to a demolished mental institution…" Kei added " And pointed to a strange disease affecting the patients there…"

"Then Mai had that dream about Rei, when she woke up she saw these two spirits…" Hikaru said " The "Engravers" right?"

"And those two spirits lead us to the Tattooed priestess from Kuze Shrine…" Yasuhara finally added.

We all stayed quiet for a bit, trying to tie the facts together; but I could see that everyone was as puzzled as I was.

"We're pretty much in the same dead end…" Yasuhara said rubbing the back of his head.

"Haven't you found anything useful from that little book, young man?" Bou-san asked sighing.

"Well…This book only explains details from the shrine's costumes…" he replied "But…the the guy from the Abe archive told me there was another volume; I asked him to get it for me…"

"Well …I hope the guy hurries" Ayako said resting her chin on her hand " We can't afford losing anymore time…"

"That's true…" Kei greed "We don't really want to end up like a pile of soot, do we?"

"I wonder….why would the victims leave a trill of soot…" John commented.

"Well…it actually makes sense…" Aki said. She hadn't spoken much until then "Soot was used to make the ink used in tattoos. The victims die when the tattoos spread and consumes their bodies; so it a makes sense that the last thing left behind is the remains of soot…"

"I didn't know soot was used as ink…" I said frankly.

"It was an old practice…now another safer material is used instead." Aki replied "In other words, the soot plays a key part in this matter…"

"Well we got a link there…."

"Uhm….the soot is a trace from the tattoos, and the tattoos are made by the engravers…" I said thoughtful "Wait a second…"

"What is it, Mai?" Hikaru asked softly.

"The engravers are the ones who are craving the cursed tattoo on our skin, right? That's why we feel pain; but we felt the pain since the beginning. That means that the engravers were there since we got the curse, why didn't any of us realize it back then? I mean I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen them here tonight"

"Hey…Mai has a point. I to tell the truth, I got something tonight but the presence was so weak that I just felt it for a second; but telling the truth…I hadn't felt anything until today…" Kei said thoughtful "unless…."

"The spirits have been here all the time…" a cool voice entered into our conversation.

Naru had come back to the tent. Rei was standing by his side with her arms crossed over her chest and Lin-san was behind them holding something.

"How's that possible? Everyone did say that they couldn't feel anything, I mean…Masako could have been wrong, but all of them?" Ayako said.

"Watch your mind, useless miko…" Masako said quietly but coldly.

"Spirits require energy in order to manifest" Naru explained "if they lack of a source of energy, they'll get weaker until the point that it's almost impossible to perceive them. Up to now, this place had been filled with souls since the very beginning, but since it seemed to be forgotten, the spirits in here didn't have enough energy to materialize, and they tried to gather energy from the surroundings; that's how they caught on the patients from the mental hospital…"

"And the curse that had befallen on the spirits fell on the patients…" Kei said " It makes sense…"

"When Mai and Momoka-san came into this place; the spirits must have targeted them as source energy…"Naru proceed "and so on…"

"How's that they haven't targeted us?" John said "We are here…and our living force must be strong enough to get their attention, right?"

"My theory is that the spirits are actually trapped in the shrine. The only way they can move around is by using their victims as a channel. That's why those Engravers had been around the four since the start of this case; but none of them have tried to contact us…."

How had Naru figured that much in so little time? That was certainly something that only Naru could do. "However…."

"However?"

"There's also another possibility…" Rei replied "The spirits might actually be transitory ghosts."

"Transitory ghosts?" we said puzzled.

"How 's that I never thought that?" Kei said hiting his fronthead "Atransitory goes exist in in second plain of existence but there are times that those plains overlap, and the spirit can take form in this world."

"The dream world!" I said.

"Both therories are interesting,but how do we get rid of all these ghosts?" Bou-san asked "performing exorcises might not be enough. Perhaps Ayako can use the tree spirits to purify them…"

"No…using the tree spirits when there's a curse in the middle might be dangerous." Rei said "The best chance we have is getting rid of the main spirit; one way or another, she is the base of the curse. If she's released the rest should, too…"

"The tattooed priestess…" I said "but how? We don't know who she was"

" We have the lists from all the women that were made a priestess." Naru said showing the book that Yasuhara had brought "Since the shrine was later abandoned, I dare say the ghost should be the last priestess who performed the ritual…"

"We still have the issue of how to exorcise her…" Bou-san said.

"If Shibuya-san is right, the spirit can be exorcised from this place; however, if I'm right, the spirit can't be exorcised only from here…"

"Does that mean you'll have to exorcise it while you're dreaming?" John asked.

"Uh…the exorcise should be double: one in real world and a second in dream world. That way the link between both plains can be severe, and the curse should be broken…"

"It sounds…hard…"

"Indeed. "Naru said "The best chance we have is to pray my supposition is correct…"

"And how are we supposed to know that?" I asked "It's not like we can go and ask the ghost…"

"We need to know where she is and find. If she is in real world, she must be there and if not….well, you know the answer…"

"How are you planning to find her?" Aki said looking and Rei.

"The answer might be here" Rei replied taking the box from Lin-san "This volume was written after the last ritual, so if anything happened it should be recorded in here. It might tell us which spot she's…most likely…haunting…"

"Awesome…." I sighed.

"Well…let's find out!" Yasuhara said pushing his glasses up his nose.

Yasuhara, Bou-san, Ayako, John and even Masako began to work with the book. Naru was staring at the map that Hikaru have drawn, almost as if he expected the ghost to pop out of it. Lin-san returned to his spot in front of the screens and the rest of us sat a little farther from the others; Hikaru was sitting by my side with Aki, and the twins were in front of me.

Rei was talking something with Kei; but I couldn't actually listen to them. It was like my head was filled with air; it felt emptier and emptier, and then... The last thing I realized was someone calling out my name.


	66. Chapter 66

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**Sorry this chapter isn't very interesting, some details are revealed to Mai in a Epiphany and that's pretty much it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #17**

_My body was surrounded by darkness; it felt heavy…my limbs felt almost as if they had been tied to the ground. I couldn't move them even if I tried._

Sleep priestess, lie in peace….Sleep priestess lie in peace….

Sleep, Priestess, Lie in peace…

_My heart skipped a beat. The song….I've heard it before, and the sound of it made the blood freeze in my veins. I tried to move, but my arms felt much heavier than before_

_._

If you cry, the boat you'll ride….

The last trip to the other side…..

_Some cold hands grabbed my limbs and I panicked. Four girls wearing shrine maiden's attires were holding me against the ground. A cold feeling caressed my skin: rusty and cold and then…_

_CLACK!_

_The sound of the mallets hitting iron filled the darkness; and intense pain began to spread over my body. I wanted to scream and cry out in pain; but my voice was gone…_

_The world around me became blurry, almost like a bad tuned television; and then…._

_My eyes snapped open. I was lying on hard and cold flooring. The smell of moss and rotten woods made me realized that I wasn't in the tent; I was in the manor. Then the dream I just had, was probably not a simple dream._

_I got up slowly and my automatic reaction was to look my hands. The nails had felt real when they pierced my palms; but there was not mark or anything; only black lines that spread over my skin like spider webs. When had the tattoos grown this much?_

_A chiming sound made me look up. The blue butterfly had appeared once more and it was fluttering over my head. As soon as my eyes fell on it, it began to fly into a corridor. I knew it wanted me to follow it, so I got and began to move after it. When the butterfly turned on a corner; when I reached the corner I saw a man walking across it. _

_I recognized him immediately; it was the shadow I had followed into the manor the first night! The butterfly fluttered in front of my face and then flew after the man._

_He had entered into a room, and the door was left half open. I bowed a little to peeked through the small opening. His back was facing me, and he seemed to be talking to someone._

"_You can ask me to do that brother!" I child's voice whispered. _

_The girl with braids was sitting in front of him. She seemed nervous._

"_Amane….please…you're the only one who can help me now…" the man said. His voice sounded shaky " I need to see her…I need to talk to her once more!"_

"_But if they found out…we will all be in trouble!"_

"_I'll take the responsibility…." The man said "Please, Amane….you're the only one who can take me to where Reika is."_

"_But she's the Tattoo Priestess! She's in the chamber of thorns now; the ritual is soon to start. I can't let you in there! You're a man, brother!"_

"_Reika isn't a Kuze! It's not her duty!Please Amane…I know how much you love her. Help me save her…"_

_The girl seemed to meditated it for a while until she finally nodded in agreement. The butterfly flew in front of my face and suddenly my surroundings began to change. It felt more like one of my usual dreams, then my cursed dreams._

_I was now standing in front of a long stone stairs that went down deep. The butterfly began to fly down of them and I followed. It wasn't long before I found the man and the little girl again. They were standing in front of a big wooden door._

"_The Chamber of Thorns is beyond this door" Amane said in a whisper "Go quick….before the lady comes back!"_

"_Thank you Amane…"_

_The man pushed the door open and went through it. The butterfly and I went after him; a sudden coldness hit me. The place was dark, decrepit and cold; from somewhere, I could hear the sound of water moving. _

_The man was moving in the darkness to a small building and entered. The butterfly moved inside and I had no other option than follow._

_What happened next went so fast that I could barely understand it. I saw a woman lying in the ground, her hands had been impaled into the damp cold stone; the man was crying over her; suddenly a woman with a strange attire came from behind and hit him. _

_The man fell to the ground in a instant dead. A piercing howl filled the room and a black mass of darkness appeared pushing us (me and the masked woman outside). _

_I raised my look just in time to see the Tattooed priestess come out from the room…her eyes filled with anger and hatred…._

I woke up startled. I was lying in a futon back in the tent. Someone had put a wet towel on my front head. The guys were standing around the table; they seemed to be discussing something important.

The wet towel fell to a side when I pushed myself up. I felt terrible: sick and awfully tired. Bou-san was the first to notice my awakening and before I could say a words he was by my side with a concerned look.

"Mai! Are you okay?"

"Y-yes…I just feel awfully tired. What happened?" I asked.

"You passed out, Mai…" Ayako said worried " You gave us a bid scare!"

"Oh, I'm sorry…." I said "I'm okay…what where you talking about?"

"We were reading the records with Yasuhara…" Kei answered "We still haven't found what is causing this, though…."

"Don't worry…I know. I just saw it…" I said.

Everyone looked at me in surprised. Naru's piercing eyes were on me, almost as if her was analyzing me. He closed his note book and sat down on a close chair.

"If that's the case….let us hear it…"

It took me a while to tell them all the details; but everyone listened carefully and didn't dare to interrupt. Lin-san took notes in his laptop and Naru didn't take his eyes off from me.

"Kuze Reika …"Yasuhara said "Yes! I think I read that somewhere in here!" he added passing the pages from the book" Here… Kuze Kyoka was supposed to give birth to a girl that would become the next tattooed priestess, however, she gave birth to a baby boy. The boy was sent on from the shrine and instead a young girl was taken from a close village her name was Reika and she later adopted the Kuze surname. She was made into a tattoo priestess …"

"Then she is our ghost…" Rei said " We're one step closer. Now how about the man and the little girl? Amane, right?"

"Kuze Amane was a later child from Kuze Kyoka. She wasn't made into a shrine priestess, but into a Pacifier."

"Pacifier…? What's that?"

"There were four of them. They were the one who had to impale the priestess in the Chajmber of Thorns. They were call pacifiers because they were supposed to sing a lullaby during the ritual to pacify the priestess soul…"

"The song!" I said.

"She called the man brother, so he must have been the boy that was sent away. He was in love with Reika?" Aki said.

"And She must have been in love of him, too. Then seeing him die in front of her eyes…and not being able to look somewhere else…she must have suffered a lot…." Hikaru said quietly.

"That's the source of the curse…" Rei said.

"Well done Mai…" Naru said closing his notebook "The information is useful, but we're still missing something….Mai, you can rest, the rest of you keep searching in the notes. I want to finish this case by tomorrow…"

The gang moved back to the table leaving alone again. Tomorrow….by this time, this case could be finally closed.


	67. Report

Hello Everyone...This is no a chapter...sorrry. I just came by to report myself and apologize for the absence.

I have been dealing with a lot this few weeks...got hard tests in college and got sick and spent it in the hospital. So you'll see i had no time to write. I'm working on tge new chapter and if everyone goes fine i'll be posting it this week...

Thanks


	68. Chapter 68

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**I'm really sorry I took so long to update! I also apologize in advance if there is any error in the chapter…I really wanted to update this for you guys so I didn't check it more thatn twice…u.u**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #18**

Naru wanted this case over as soon as possible, and to tell the truth so did I. This case had been, literally, a nightmare and all I wanted was it to be over. Rei and Kei were preparing themselves to perform the exorcism in the dream world. Meanwhile, Bou-san would do it in the real building.

The choosing of the exorcism spot took a while. Kei said that the best was to do it in the ghost lair; according to my visions, it had to be the Chamber of Thorns.

Our main task that morning was opening the way to the main shrine. It was a lot easier with the help of the whole team.

"I hope Naru knows what he's doing…he's putting us all into a great danger, you know?"Ayako complained looking her nails "Besides…he's ruining my nails…like always…"

"You're complaining too much, woman…"Bou-san said cleaning the sweat from his forehead "As much as I'm concerned you're not doing anything…"

"Well…that's men's work, no?" Ayako said with a mischievous smile.

Bou-san rolled his eyes and started pulling some woods to clear the way.

"Shibuya-san is actually being reckless though…" John commented "If the exorcism fail today…we're pretty much in danger now…right?"

"You know Naru…that arrogant work-a-holic jerk _can't_ ever be wrong…" I said lowering my shoulders "I guess he's simply too convinced that his plan will work…"

"Like it always does…" observed Yasuhara"Let's see…if the map in this book is correct…there's a door by the end of this corridor. That door should take us to a small garden with a large tree and four doors. The northeastern door is the entrance to the shrine…"

"Why would they choo0se the Northeast to set the shrine…" Bou-san said frowning " that's a kimon door (1)…"

"Perhaps that's exactly why…" Aki said " The shrine was put in there to contain the evil spirits. That's why they needed to perform the a ritual…"

"To keep spirits in the other side?" I said "Makes sense…and that's why when the ritual failed everything turned to chaos…"

"Since when does Mai actually make smart theories?" Yasuhara commented.

I glared at him and showed him my tongue.

"All that dreaming is actually making you smarter….or is Naru's influence actually affecting you?" he mocked me.

"Oh shut up…I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks…" I said annoyed and everyone else just laughed.

"Oh…we know that, Mai…" Yasuhara said pushing up his glasses "we just like teasing you"

"But hey…getting ourselves more seriously…" Bou-san said cleaning the black marks of soot from his face "We should really consider what are we going to do if Naru's plan

happens to fail. We might end up cursed as well…"

"Let's keep ourselves optimistic…." John smiled "I'm sure that Shibuya-san wouldn't let us fall into such a dangerous situation…"

"But still…a double exorcism might be too hard even in reality….now how are we supposed to synchronize two exorcisms in different dimensions?" Ayako complained.

"We'll do it!" I said cheerfully "If we believe it, we can do anything…so stop saying such gloomy things "

"I have no idea how can you always be that optimistic…Oi!" Yasuhara said and his voice was suddenly interrupted by a loud "Plack".

"What?" we all said at the same time.

"I found the door…"

We pointed our torches to the spot Yasuhara had signaled. It seemed like a big doubled door. Like the door I had seen before it had a paper doll nailed to it. A chill ran down my back.

"It's sealed…?" I asked.

Bou-san moved closer to take a better look at the door and shook his head.

"I'm not an expert but this seems like a mantra to seal spirits…" he said "It's not meant to keep the living out"

"Well…shall we get in?"

"Wait…may be….we should ask an expert first?" I suggested. I had had other experiences with removing seals and none of them had been nice "You know…to make sure?"

"Jou-chan is right. We better ask that Abe kid before we even try to touch it. Can you reach him Yasu?" Bou-san asked.

"Well…I believe so. If my phone has signal, here…yep, I'll call him…"

We spent at least 20minutes to remove the seal properly. It wasn't easy. Ayako was chosen for the task since she was a miko, and she performed the ritual under Kei's commands. I must admit, I was a little nervous…Ayako's power were pretty much limited to what she could do with the help of her tree spirits; but Ayako had proven to be a good miko after all.

When the door was finally open, the anxiety and anticipation from everyone could be felt in the air. I didn't even realize until later that I was biting my lip. The door open silently (scarily silently); the feeling was instantaneous. Coldness, fear, sorrow…a burst of sensations hit out of sudden; a burst of images filled my head like screenshots from a very ld movie. The images were scary: a spiral stairs that went deep down into somekind of dark abyss, a little girl with braids pulling a man; a corpse being nailed by three little girl and a black curtain that engulfed everything…. I looked around me, but it seemed like no one had seen what I did.

"It's a pitch dark there…" Yasuhara said " Let's be careful people. We don't know what is in there…"

"Stairs…" I replied automatically " high stairs…so watch your step and stay close to the wall…"

"What did you say, Mai?" Ayako said surprised "How do you know that?"

"I think…I just saw it…in my head. I can't explain it; I don't understand…either…" I replied frankly. I felt air headed and a little sick "Perhaps it was the curse…may be I have some kind of bond with it? I don't know…"

My friends looked me concerned.

"If Mai is right we need to be careful…it might be a long deathly fall…" Bou-san said "Stay together…"

The feeling that hit me when the door opened was nothing compared to what I felt when I gave me first step into the darkness; it was like being pushed in to a freezer; but adding fear and panic to the coldness.

"Mai…sweetie. You okay?" Ayako asked me putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Y-yes….let's just say this place gives me creeps. Can we get there soon…I'll have to spend my night here while I dream. I don't want to be here awake, too."

The way down was horribly long. I couldn't help but having that feeling of being watched. One or two times, I thought I heard some extra steps following us down there. I kept trying to convince myself that there was nothing in there…but…

"We're here…" Bou-san's voice broke the silence making up some echo against the walls.

"The main shrine should be on the other side, right?" said John.

"Yep…supposed. All right let's open this…"

Bou-san began to push the door, but it barely moved. Some minutes later everyone was helping with the door opened and a disgusting smell reached out.

I felt like I was going to get sick, the smell was fetid, disgusting…like something rotten that had been kept for a long time in tightly shut place.

_My head began to spin and then everyone vanished from my side. I was suddenly alone and the room was lit by tiny blue flames. I felt strange: sad, scared…regretful; but , somehow…these weren't my feelings. Four girls with kimonos conducted me to the middle of the room and helped me to lie down. They were singing...It was a lullaby; and I'd heard it before._

_I was in a vision…and I knew exactly what was about to happen. Without warning the cold iron from the stakes impaled my limbs. The ritual finished in seconds that felt like an eternity. Soon enough the four girls left the place shutting the door behind them. A deep feeling of loneliness filled me. It was dark everywhere, and I couldn't move. I felt my warm blood leaking from the place where the stakes hold me tightly to the ground. _

_All I could see was darkness; but suddenly, a small ray of light cut the darkness. The door had been open. Someone was coming…I could his/her steps._

"_Reika…"_

_That voice…it was the man! The one I had seen…_

"_Ka…name…." my lips muttered in some else's voice._

"_No….what have they done? Hold on…I'll take you out of here just…"_

_He couldn't finish. There was something moving behind him. I was totally immobilized, I couldn't move my head to see what it was, nor could I move my lips to warn him. Horrified, I saw how the man in front of me…the man _I loved_._

**Kimon door: demon's door.**


	69. Chapter 69

**GHOST HUNT: THE MISSING ARCHIVES**

**Hello this is my first Ghost Hunt story. I hope you all like it. The story will make use of contents from the games KUON and FATAL FRAME SERIES. I'll be, mostly, using the ghosts mentioned in the games. The main plot on each case is fully my creation.**

**Well here's the chapter. I know it's late. I think it isn't my best work but honestly Im so tired that I barely notice what I'm writing. This semester has been hard…:/**

**BE kind to me…I hope this chapter isn't as bad as I think…**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before. **

**FILE #4: The pacing Shadow #18**

Once the vision vanished the only feeling remaining was a sensation of deep pain and sickness. My stomach was twisting and I felt like throwing up, but I managed to recover and look around me.

None of the team members had seemed to notice what had just happened to me, so I guessed it hadn't been as long as I had felt. Ayako was standing by my side pinching her nose with a disgusted expression in her face right next to her Aki seemed to be thinking something.

Yasuhara, Bou-san and John were busy moving around the chamber with the torches. For what I could see in the dim light, they're faces seemed pretty uneasy.

"This place is all filled with so many skeletons…" Yasuhara said with a shaky voice.

"Never seen so many in the same place…it almost seems like there was some sort of massacre in here…" Bou-san said.

"Massacre? Was it some sort of ritual killing like the ones in Himuro?" John asked.

"Honestly…"

"No…it wasn't…" I whispered.

"Uh? Did you say something?" Ayako said looking at me .

"This place…every tattoo priestess was impaled here. All of them fulfilled their duty in peace, but the last one…"

Everyone had stopped to look at me.

"Reika…" I said sadly " She didn't want to do this task…she loved someone…"

"Wait…Mai…How do you know this?"Bou-san said turning to me.

"I….How can I explain this…."

"Mmm, perhaps this is something Shibuya-san would be interested to hear. Should we go back to base before Mai proceeds?" Yasuhara suggested.

"Mmm…I guess Naru would be pretty interested in this" Bou-san admitted it.

The way back to base was much faster than the way down into the shrine. When we got there, Naru was reading something over the table and both Rei and Kei were sitting by him making what seemed to be like charms.

"Naru….Mai has some interesting information to share!" Bou-san exited.

"Really?" Naru replied coldly "What would that be?"

"I know what happened here! To the ghost I mean…"

Naru raised his look and stared at me with those deep blue eyes. As usual his face seemed emotionless, but something in the deep of his eyes let me know that I had got his attention.

"The last shrine priestess…the ritual failed because she had and attachment to this world…" I said "She was in love!"

"Wow…that's something I didn't expect…"Kei said rolling his eyes "How isn't this familiar?"

"The thing is… the night of the ritual. She actually saw the man she loved dying in front of her eyes…" I said lowering my face " She was impaled, but she was still alive…she was forced to see it all completely helpless …"

"No surprise she's gotten obsessed with lost loved ones…" Aki said " She was forced to see her lover die in front of her and not able to do a thing…"

"Perhaps we can use this information to cleanse her spirit" Kei said "I kind of feel sorry for her. It'd be nice to know she could move on"

"Can't we use a _hitogata _to bring her lover's soul?" suggested John.

"We would need moer information to use a hitogata …" Naru said " We don't have the information."

Naru closed his notebook and stood up startling everyone.

"Knowing this won't stop the curse from spreading. With our current situation, we can't afford losing our time. The best choice we've got is cleansing this spirit…for good"

"Shibuya- san is right. We are running out of time…" Rei said "Trying to figure out the lover's name might be a waste of time…"

"Cleansing is the best option…"Kei said " The charms are ready…we can start on your command Shibuya-san"

Naru said nothing, but nodded quietly.

"_Mai…"_

_My eyes opened slowly. It was strange. The air felt thick and hard to breath, and even though the room I was sitting in was lit by many of Rei's fox fires, it still looked awfully dark._

"_You're a heavy sleeper, even in your dreams, Mai…" Rei said frowning. _

"_Eh..hehe…" I laughed rubbing my head. I looked around me and saw Kei and Hikaru standing by a large wooden door that I instantly recognized. It was the door to the Chamber of Thorns._

"_We are all here…" I said delighted._

"_Of course we are…the charms were meant to bring us here" Kei replied._

"_And luckily they worked perfectly" Hikaru smiled "And it even allowed us to bring our attires…"_

_I smiled. It was true the three of them were wearing their ritual garments. I wondered why did they wanted me to come, it was not like I could do anything._

"_If thing are moving as planned. Bou-san and John must be starting their own rituals as well. We should get moving as well…" Rei said "Mai, stay close…and do not do anything unnecessary okay?"_

"_Understood…" I replied._

_With those few words we moved to the door and pushed it open. A cold breeze hit the skin in my face making it burn. Something didn't feel right. _

"_Okay…this is a bad sign…" Kei said "Hikaru can you do something about it…?"_

"_I might be able to make us a small purifying barrier. But this place is too corrupted…it might not work properly…" _

"_It's something at least…" Rei said "Do it…" _

_Hikaru nooded. She closed her eyes with her praying beads between her hands while she muttered some sort of prayer. The air seemed to lighten around us and that feeling of uneasiness dissipated. _

"_Ok…time to enter the mouth of the demon…" Kei said._

_We all took a deep breath. I couldn't stop myself from holding my breath as we crossed the door. I kept looking around nervously almost as if Reika would appear any time soon…_

_The room was awfully silent and the light from Rei's fire got lost in the deep emptiness. The only audible sounds were our foot steps over the damp stone floor. _

Let me….sleep forever….

_My hear felt to my feet. There she was…pale and covered by tattoos; her hair waving behind her back as blown by some invisible breeze. I could almost feel her sorrow and pain reaching me._

"_Reika…" I whispered._

"On Kirikiribazara Bajirihoramandamanda…."

_The chorus of chants and spells began to resound in the chamber. Horrified, I saw how none of the spells seemed to work on her. Reika walked to us and I saw my friends being pushed against the walls of the chamber with and incredible force. I was unable to help; totally useless. The only thing I was able to do was run and hide behind the barricade that my friends were being for me…_

_A soft jingle made me look up; it was the same butterfly I had seen before. It was fluttering a couple steps from me as if was waiting for me, just like the time when he had shown me the visions of Kaname….._

_Wait…that was it. Kaname's spirit was still here. If there was a chance that those two could meet….Reika would finally be free; but how?_

"_Little butterfly, I don't know who you are…but you've helped me before…" I whispered " Can you help me this time again? I need to bring Kaname to Reika…so that she can be free to move on!"_

_The butterfly fluttered in front of me and it was like the world around me had disappeared and I was standing in some sort of void. There was someone curled in a corner. It was a girl with long black hair and a pale kimono._

"_Reika…"I said._

"_He's gone….he's gone and it's all my fault!" she sobbed "We shouldn't have met….he shouldn't have been killed. I don't want to see it…I just wanna rest….I'm tired…so tired…"_

_She was suffering so much that I could avoid feeling sympathy for her. I was about to ectend my hand to her when suddenly…._

"_Reika…."a low male voice said._

_The girl stopped crying automatically and raised her face. She was so pretty, her eyes suddenly got the light back into them when a tall man with back hair appeared in front of her._

"_Ka…name…."_

_The man smiled at her as they hugged each other with sweetness. They both looked at me and smiled._

"_Thank you…"_

_I smiled as I saw the scene disappear, and I returned to the dark a lonely chamber of thorns. The battle had ended, the spirit was finally exorcised and the curse had been lifted. I had no idea of what had happened; all I knew ( and was happy about) was that Reika and Kaname were finally together…_


End file.
